A little boy has been in and out of hospital for much of his life due to a condition that he shares with his mum that leads to tumours across the body. Both Rachel and Nathan Pucio are living with neurofibromatosis (NF).
It is a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow across nerves all over the body. Rachel, from Southport, said she had managed to live a relatively normal life, but Nathan, her only son, has been plagued with tumour since a young age.
His condition was diagnosed when he was just nine months old. He also has ADHD, autism and scoliosis. He had his first operation at the age of two.
Rachel, 35, who works at Morrisons, told the LiverpoolECHO: "When Nathan was born we had him tested to see if he had neurofibromatosis and was diagnosed at nine months old. We'd obviously kept in touch with Alder Hey, but when he was two we noticed he had two lesions on his back which ended up being benign tumours, so we had to get them removed.
"Since then it's been constant MRI scans every six months, back and forth from the hospital, and then they realised he had scoliosis when he was five years old and had to wear a back brace for a while to help with the scoliosis. Then the scoliosis continued to get worse and they said surgery was needed, so he had an operation in July last year.
"He's just had another one to extend the rods about four weeks ago now. Alder Hey is an amazing hospital with amazing support. There's always a nurse at the end of the phone to help if needed."
Rachel is now raising money for Alder Hey after the constant support over the past six years. She will be abseiling down Liverpool Cathedral later this year in hope of raising as much money for the children's hospital as possible.
She said: "I'm raising money for Alder Hey because they're an amazing hospital. Nathan spends so much time at the hospital with appointments and stays. The care there has been fantastic and I just wanted to raise money because Alder Hey has kept him going."
To read more about the fundraiser and to donate, click here.
