The teenage years throw up challenges for all youngsters but what Nathan Wilkie faces is unlike anything most other 13-year-olds live with.
The Dundee teen, a pupil at St John’s RC High School, is living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a condition that causes muscle weakness.
DMD is estimated to impact one in every 3,500 boys, with the probability in girls just one in a million.
Nathan was diagnosed with the condition at just three years old and it has progressed over the last decade.
‘Nathan hates the impact DMD is having’
Now fully reliant on a wheelchair, he and his family have continued to adapt to the life- limiting condition, which can cause death as early as the late teens or early 20s.
His mother, Dorothy Hawes, and father, Barry Wilkie, said it has been hard to see the changes in Nathan as the degenerative disease continues to attack his body.
Now, his parents want to take him on a cruise and have launched a fundraiser to cover the cost of insurance and other expenses.
“As Nathan got to 10 or 11 you could see far more of a difference but he was still able to walk on his tiptoes,” Barry said.
“Unfortunately, he fell and hurt his ankle and he came off his feet when he was 12, as he struggled to put any weight on it.
“The last year has been particularly hard with the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
“Nathan hates the impact DMD is having on his day-to-day living.”
Dorothy is also having chemotherapy for breast cancer and the family want to make as many memories as possible, including the cruise trip, planned for October.
Dorothy said: “We are going in October and, because of me not currently working, Barry is Nathan’s full-time carer; we are trying to raise some money to cover some of the costs.
“Just before lockdown last year we raised around £2,500 from a race night and raffle at the Fairmuir Social Club.
“Initially we never had a target; we had planned on going to Florida but with Nathan coming off his feet that meant we could not transfer him from chair to chair.
“We felt a cruise would be a better option for us to get away as a family.
“We’ve got friends and family doing a car boot sale and walk across the Tay Road Bridge as well.
“With all the insurance we need, the total for the cruise is £6,000 and we’ve set a target on our Go Fund Me to raise £1,000.”
Wheelchair football
Despite the challenges, Nathan hasn’t let the condition stop him from focusing on his education and starting wheelchair football with the Tayside Dynamos.
Dorothy said Nathan was looking forward to returning to training.
She added: “The coaches said he has been doing well and it’s been hard to not be able to go to the training with the lockdown.
“If he gets on well he could be part of upcoming tours that they go on.”
Donations for the cruise fund can be made here.