The sister of a Belfast toddler living with a life-limiting condition has told of her dream that he one day attends school.
Little Freddie William McCrory, two, has the rare Mitochondrial disorder - Leigh’s disease.
It means he is “completely immobile” and depends on his family all day.
He has a limited lifespan and his family don’t know how long they will have left with him.
But, despite the every day difficulties facing the Woodvale family, there’s still a boy who loves all the same things that others his age do.
Sister Sasha, 19, told Belfast Live: “He’s such a friendly, happy boy. He absolutely loves being around other kids. He has a mini brush, shovel, mop and Dyson hoover because he loves cleaning.
“Freddie is not unlike any other two-year-old boy in the sense that he is very mischievous and has a great sense of humour - he’s often seen smiling and laughing at home when he’s playing with his toys. And he loves the film Finding Nemo to the point where it plays on repeat in the house.”
Freddie lives on Twadell Avenue with Sasha, his dad William, and mum Sharon.
The condition is incurable, and life-limiting. This week is Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week and Belfast City Hall was lit up green on Wednesday to mark it.
Explaining a typical day, Sasha said: “He has a weakened immune system so it only takes something like a cold or viral infection to drain him energy wise, which was the case about a month ago.
“He has bounced back now but about three weeks ago he wasn’t able to speak, lift his arms, had no control over his head movements and the only way I can describe it was that his body went limp and he had no control over his muscles whatsoever.
“He has a chair and pram to support him because part of his condition is that he has lost the ability to walk which he never regained.
"He has recently been accepted to start Sense Nursery in Jordanstown one day a week and he is really looking forward to it as he loves being around other children and playing.
"Currently there isn't a lot of treatment available for children with Mitochondrial Disorders because every child is different and what may work for someone may not work for someone else. There is no cure which is why it is important to the family and wider community to raise awareness.”
The family don’t know how long they will have with Freddie but are determined to make every moment count.
Sasha said: “His lifespan is limited we don’t know how long we have left with him, but we would like to raise awareness for a cure for other families in the same position to us but we all have the same hope that he can get stronger and lead a somewhat normal life by maybe one day attending school.
“But we just have to take each day as it comes really because the hospital aren’t able to give us a time frame as to how long he has left with us.”
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