The mum of a 12 year old boy with a rare muscular disease has spoken about the torture she experiences not knowing if he will reach his next birthday.
William Magee, from Prenton, suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease that degenerates his muscles, leaving him in a wheelchair and with a short life-expectancy. He was diagnosed just two weeks before his second birthday.
There is no known cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Kelly said that there was once hope with an experimental treatment that William, 12, underwent, however it did not work.
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William is now nearing his 13th birthday (August 19) and mum Kelly says she is tortured by the thought that it could be his last. The mum of three told the ECHO: "There's not a lot you can arrange for his birthday now he is completely non-ambulant and has very little mobility.
"As much as I would love to book a trip to Disney - he loves Marvel - for his birthday, I have absolutely no idea how that would work.
"How would we take a child to Disney who needs to be hoisted, who needs a hospital bed and all this equipment on holiday.
"He's going to be thirteen this year and that's a massive milestone. It's a huge celebration, and we've officially got a teenager.
"But I honestly am terrified, because it means that officially we are closer to losing him. I have known boys to pass away from his condition who were ten [years old].
"We have no idea how many birthdays we have with him ahead of us.
"Every day we have with him is a blessing. Every birthday is a huge celebration. But I'm in continuous mourning for somebody who is still alive.
"It's really strange. I want to celebrate everything, and I want everything to be happy. But for every happy occasion I have, and every precious memory we make there's a sadness because you know that's a time you're going to look back on, and possibly wish you'd done more, or wish something else had happened.
"I find it very difficult to look back on old photographs from when he was younger. It's really strange because I know it's still him but it's like I've lost that child."
Kelly is hoping to make William's next birthday extra-special. She wants to recreate one of William's fondest memories.
When William was six Kelly appealed to Facebook asking people to send him a birthday card. The appeal was a massive success and they received 28,941 cards from well-wishers all the way from Australia to Brazil, and you can still read the ECHO's coverage from the time.
Kelly said: "Something like this for William is absolutely fantastic, he has a great time and people go all out to support him and it shows him how much he's cared for. It also gives me a different focus because I'm focusing on doing something to make him happy and I don't have time to think about the other stuff."
Kelly asks that anyone who wants to wish William well sends him a birthday card in time for his 13th birthday on Friday, August 19.
She added: "I want this to be his most memorable birthday to date, its such a milestone for him and we have no idea how many more milestones we will get to celebrate with him.
"How amazing would it be if he made it into the world records, or if we beat his 28,461 from his sixth birthday?"
The Shankly Hotel, on Victoria Street has kindly offered to collect the cards for William. Their address is: Shankly Hotel, Millennium House, 60 Victoria St, Liverpool L1 6JD
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