Brave little Alby has found his feet; Now parents plan to raise research cash.

Byline: Joanne Butcher

DOCTORS said Alby Morris would never walk. But the youngster, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, is determined to prove them wrong. At 18 months old, the brave toddler has already found his feet - and now his parents hope he can beat his debilitating condition.

Alby, who lives with mum Amy, dad Keith and baby sister Ava, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in June this year. The condition, which is genetic, weakens Alby's muscles and could also affect his heart.

Amy, who works as a occupational therapist and also runs her own wedding dress shop, said the diagnosis came as a huge shock for the family.

"I always knew, as a mum, that something was wrong," the 31-year-old said.

"Alby would struggle to tip a cup up to drink, and he couldn't push himself up from the floor if he was lying down.

"But it was still quite a shock to hear MD. At first we didn't really know what it would mean.

"Most people are not diagnosed until they are teenagers, and because Alby is so young the doctors didn't know how much it was going to affect him."

Medics told Amy and Keith, a 35-year-old PE teacher, that their son might never be able to walk.

They also warned that he could need a pacemaker by his 30s, and might end up severely disabled.

Devastated, the couple prepared themselves for the worst. But little Alby was determined to prove everyone wrong.

The happy little boy, who is always full of smiles and laughter, has recently started walking.

His development is now only slightly behind a typical toddler - and doctors hope this means he will suffer from a very mild version of the degenerative condition.

"My mum bursts into tears every time she sees Alby walk," said Amy. "It was such a big step for him. At first, when you hear the news, you think you will never get over it. We thought Alby would never be happy because of the disease.

"But Alby is wonderful. He is always laughing, which makes it hard to be upset, because you start laughing too. He's an absolute joy. We keep our fingers crossed for the future."

Fortunately, baby Ava, who was born eight weeks ago, does not suffer from MD. The disease only arose in her older brother because of a mutation in his genes, and was not passed on from his parents. Now, the family are committed to raising cash for research into muscle disease.

They are holding a black tie dinner dance at the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle tomorrow to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

Over 200 guests will attend for a meal, auction, raffle and disco which Amy hopes will raise hundreds of pounds for research. And they hope to set up a 5k fun run next year.

"We started raising money because it's really the only thing we can do," explained Amy. "As a parent you want to make it better. But with something like MD there is no cure, and that is the hardest thing to hear.

"We are meant to be able to help our children and make them better and it is heart breaking to know that there is nothing we can do. All we can do for Alby is hope that scientists find something as he grows up."

For more information, or to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, visit www.muscular-dystrophy.org NORTH PROFESSOR GETS GRANT FOR VITAL RESEARCH A NORTH academic has been awarded a grant of over pounds 60,000 to carry out research by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

The cash will help Professor Kate Bushby, from Newcastle University, start a two year project looking at the underlying cause of rare but debilitating muscle wasting conditions.

She will investigate the role of the immune system to try to work out what causes muscle damage - and potentially help find treatments. Prof Bushby said: "We are very happy to have received funding to continue our research and potentially find ways to help with this currently incurable set of conditions.

"The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has supported our work for many years and was also instrumental in allowing us to develop new diagnostic tests for muscular dystrophies in the past." This project is one of six grants awarded by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign for top-class research this year, which total over pounds 250,000.

Director of research Dr Marita Pohlschmidt said: "The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is delighted to continue its policy of supporting world class research with this grant to fund the vital work being undertaken by Professor Bushby and her team at Newcastle University.

"Their work represents an important step forward in helping us move closer to developing treatments."

CAPTION(S):

SMILER Alby Morris with his mum Amy. WALKING SMALL Alby Morris who suffers from muscular dystrophy.