He may be living with a rare chromosome disorder, but one inspiring Colne youngster is still proving to be his parent’s “little miracle”.
Jacob Murray (5) was diagnosed with trisomy 8 syndrome (T8M) when he was just three-years-old.
And while this has meant that the Park Primary School pupil has suffered various health problems over the years, it has not stopped him from developing in other areas and amazing people with his incredible zest for life.
More recently it has been announced Jacob, who is supported by his mum Emma Crosby and dad Ben Murray, will have mild to moderate learning difficulties, and that he does have issues processing sensory signals.
But the youngster no longer gets as poorly as he used to do, his speech has started to become clearer, he is eating a lot better, and his asthma has shown signs of improvement.
Talking ahead of Trisomy Awareness month Emma (28), a support assistant at Lord Street Primary School, said: “It was hard at first to get your head around it and to understand. You do feel a sense of anger, and you think ‘why does it have to happen to me?’. But once you get through that, you don’t feel those things anymore.
“I am actually glad now, he is our little miracle and every time he does something it is a massive thing not just for us, but for him as well. It is lovely to see and to share with everybody across the world.
“He has settled into school amazingly well - he really really loves it. He is not reading or writing properly, but he is recognising his phonics.
“The school are meeting his needs, and have been amazing with him. I am just happy he is happy.”
Trisomy Awareness month begins tomorrow, and according to Emma will look at trisomy in all its different forms - from the more recognisable Down syndrome, Edward syndrome and Patau syndrome, to Jacob’s syndrome, which is the focus on March 8th.
Trisomy 8, which affects only one in every 25,000 to 50,000 babies, is defined as the presence of three full copies of chromosome 8 in all of a person’s cells. Mosaic trisomy 8 occurs when only a portion of these cells contain three copies, while others contain the usual two.
Emma added: “I have not got anything planned other than I hope to share stories on Jacob’s site, and get people to share it. It will also be a day for us to reflect as a family on how far Jacob has come.”
For more information visit www.rarechromo.org or visit the “Our t8m star! - Jacob’s story” Facebook page.