The parents of a baby with an incurable genetic disease are appealing for help raising £8,000 to make his short life more comfortable.

Catching a common cold could prove life-threatening for six-month-old Lachlon Filipe because he doesn’t have the strength to fight it. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy over the summer, he is unlikely to reach school age – even though he has made good progress since then.

Mum Brittany vividly remembers the day she was told about her son’s condition.

“It was absolutely devastating,” she said. “My heart just sank and I didn’t know what to do or say.

“We’re just taking every day as it comes, really.

“It’s not so much about giving him a normal life, but a longer one.”

Little Lachlon currently has an hour of aquatheraphy at Becontree Leisure Centre every day to help develop his muscles but his mum Brittany and dad Tyla hope to raise enough cash to pay for a jacuzzi to allow him to be treated at home in familiar surroundings.

“He’s not got the strength to do most things a normal six-month-old could do,” Brittany, 20, explained.

“He loves the physio because he’s able to move his arms and legs more than he can outside the pool, and it gives him a bit of freedom.

“The jacuzzi will hopefully make him able to use his muscles a lot more and allow him to reach out for things.”

Their appeal to raise £8,250 would also enable them create a sensory room at their home in Freshwater Road, Dagenham – meaning daily costly trips to Kidscape in Romford would be a thing of the past.

Lachlon’s medical attention includes monthly injections, visits to Great Ormond Street Hospital every other month and a consultant appointment every four weeks.

To make a donation to the appeal, visit preciouskids.org.uk

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