A hope there’s a way for Will

Last updated 11:46, Monday, 04 August 2008

Little Will Tweddle looks like any other cheeky, hill-climbing, bike-racing seven-year-old. A bright schoolboy who dreams of being a footballer or a spaceman, or something more down to earth, such as clambering over all the fells.

He is already looking forward to starting school at Caldewlea after the holidays.

But Will suffers from the rare muscle wasting disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

It is a degenerative illness that consigns the youngster to a bleak future in a wheelchair and the possibility of dying in his teens or early twenties.

His mum Jodie and her long-term partner Gary Birkett are battling to raise funds for genetic research into the little-known condition and say a breakthrough is close which will help Will and countless other youngsters.

They have already travelled to London to raise the issue with Parliament.

Later this week, Gary will slog through the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for research into this disease.

He has been training hard for the fells for the past year.

His hard work deserves to pay off and result in hard cash which can go into the research so desperately needed into this dreadful illness.

We also sincerely hope the dreams and wishes of this loving family come true and that the breakthrough is made sooner, rather than later.