Mum heaps praise on son's 'amazing' friends after muscle condition diagnosis

A Dublin mum has heaped praise on her young son's "amazing" friends after he was diagnosed with a rare muscle condition. Seven-year-old Archie Ennis has been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes muscle degeneration and weakness. His mother Una Ennis has launched a fundraising drive to try to raise €3.2 million to get Archie a form of gene therapy in the US to help stop his condition from worsening. Una told Dublin Live this morning that she feared how Archie's friends and the other children in Jobstown would react to the news - but said that they have all been "so helpful" to Archie since they learned of his condition. She said: "His friends are just amazing. The kids do know, just like Archie, that his muscles are tired, and they're helping him, they’re bringing him home. "Before, or if they didn’t know, they’d be like; ‘oh Archie is giving out’ - but no they’re like; ‘come on Archie, I’ll help you up’. It’s just great to see, the kids are actually so helpful, and it just gives us peace of mind that they’re helping him and that they understand as well." Una Ennis Archie was diagnosed with the condition on December 10, after Una and husband Kenneth noticed their son physically declining and struggling with fatigue - especially when climbing stairs. Una recalls: "We saw symptoms - he was struggling going up the stairs, he was struggling standing up. "The physio said we should go and see the doctor. The doctor in Tallaght Hospital looked at him, and I got a bad vibe, I knew there was something going on. "He’s aware that when he’s going up the stairs he’s struggling. He’s said to his little pal; ‘look Bailey I can’t really go up the stairs’ - and I said; ‘Archie, you just need some help going up the stairs’. "His energy levels aren’t like other kids either. He can go up stairs, it just takes him a long time, and he’s struggling. He goes in the elevator in school. "We are seeing signs of it progressing in Archie. It’s a muscle-weakening condition, and basically, if we don’t get the treatment for Archie, it’s going to keep progressing to his lungs and to his heart. "Obviously, it’s just devastating for us. We really want to get the treatment as fast as we can." Since posting about Archie's condition on social media last week, Archie's fundraiser has pooled together more than €425,000 so far, and another mum in a similar situation has reached out to Una to provide assistance. She's also received offers of support and counselling from charities, while a number of Irish celebrities have championed Archie's cause on social media. But Una. 31, knows that she must keep going to get the funding to help her son. "Thankfully when I posted our story a lot of people reached out to us," she said. "Another mammy from Ireland, she moved abroad to get this treatment for her little boy, she explained what it entails. "If we do get the gene therapy, we will go over [to Los Angeles] and get one infusion, and stay one night all going well. We could probably pop back once a week to see how he’s getting on, or maybe our doctor could keep an eye on Archie to see how things are going. "The fundraising is going amazing, but we only have 20 per cent of what we actually need. It’s a phenomenal amount of money, and it’s ridiculous that we even have to try to out this out there, to save our little boy… he’s only seven year of age. It’s just horrendous." You can view and donate to Archie's fundraiser by clicking here. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

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