THE day Louise Knaggs’s son Blake was born was the best day of her life.

“My husband Paul and I had been trying for a baby for a couple of years and we were over the moon,” she said.

How quickly that joy has turned to heartbreak.

Blake seemed perfectly healthy when he was born at York Hospital last December. But earlier this year, Louise noticed he was feeding poorly.

She took him to A&E, he was admitted to hospital, and tests revealed he was suffering from a rare genetic condition known as Mucolipidosos II.

It’s an incurable condition which causes waste products to build up in the cells of Blake’s body, leading to progressive disability. He is likely to die before he reaches the age of five.

There is no possible comfort for Louise or Paul. So they are doing the only thing they can: raising money for research into the condition.

Louise’s sister Joanne is organising an auction evening at Haxby Sports Club; the two sisters plan to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks; and Louise is also planning a parachute jump.

We’re sure many readers will be touched by Blake’s story. So why not make a donation? Then one day this awful condition might be incurable no longer.