An 'affectionate' and 'caring' eight-year-old boy has been left unable to walk and needing an electric wheelchair after he recently lost the ability to walk.
Toby Harthorne, eight, from Bootle , has been left unable to stand unaided or use his self propelled wheelchair after his condition worsened in recent months.
Toby was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare form of muscular dystrophy that affects boys causing severe muscle weakness.
Toby's aunt, Laura Ross, 30, told the ECHO that the deterioration of his muscle strength has left him unable to get out of bed unaided or walk.
She described Toby as 'Liverpool mad' but that as his condition has worsened he's been left unable to play football.
She said: "He was only four days old when we got the diagnosis from doctors that he had Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"He's such a lovely lad. He loves football and he's Liverpool mad but he cant play anymore because his condition has deteriorated in the last few months. The last time he was able to play football was in the summer but now he can't.
"Recently he has been struggling a lot. Yesterday he couldn't get out of bed and it's got to the point where he can't even stand up let alone walk.
"He was crying and looked at his mum and said: 'my legs keep going mum'. "
Aunt Laura said that Toby is in need of an automatic wheelchair because his reduced muscle strength means he can no longer use a normal wheelchair.
She said: "His muscles don't work so he can't use the self propelled wheelchair that he is currently in.
"He needs an automatic wheelchair but we need to raise another £1,300 to buy it now.
"He's a loving , generous and caring child who cares so much about other people even despite what he's going through himself.
"He's just such an affectionate and beautiful child."
She said: "He's such a determined little boy. He's so stubborn and he doesn't moan about his life.
"He tries to push himself because he wants to be independent. He's so independent minded but at the moment he struggles with everyday things.
"When he's in school he uses a walking frame because he doesn't like using his current wheelchair .
Laura added that a new wheelchair would 'change Toby's life' as his mobility problems have dissuaded him from leaving the house.
She added: "If he could get this new chair it would change his life. There's never going to be a cure for his condition but getting the chair will make a hell of a lot of difference.
"At the moment he doesn't like going out because he doesn't like taking the chair out. It would change his life.
"I'm doing a full 12 hours of training and boxing in the gym to try and raise money for the wheelchair fund. His mum and I box so we thought that would be a good way to try and raise money.
"We'll be doing circuits from 8am until 8pm and using donations and money moeny from tickets to try and raise money for Toby."
A link to the Justgiving page to raise money for a powered wheelchair for Toby can be found here .
