When baby Eric Woods was born his parents were overjoyed.

Happy and healthy he arrived at full term and nothing would foretell what would happen before he had even reached his first birthday.

At three-months-old his parents started to become concerned and by six months, they would receive a devastating diagnosis.

Eric had type one spinal muscular atrophy, the most severe form of the genetic condition which causes progressive muscle weakness.

Mum Mary Newell, 32, said: “At around three-months-old we started to notice Eric wasn’t moving his arms as much, and by five-months-old he stopped moving his legs, still had no head control and was unable to sit up.”

Mary said the day she and his dad James Woods were told the diagnosis “completely changed our lives”.

Since he was six-months-old, he has been tube fed because he cannot swallow safely.

“The disease is characterised by progressive muscle weakness caused by the loss of specialized nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord and the part of the brain connected to the spinal cord.

“Motor neurons control voluntary muscle movements including those of the arms, legs, chest, face, throat, and tongue. The loss of motor neurons leads to weakness and atrophy in these muscles.

“Movement progressively becomes slower and the ability to control voluntary movement may be lost completely.”

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

  • Eric as a baby

It means simple tasks such as walking, sitting up, controlling head movement, breathing, and swallowing can become more difficult.

But despite the challenges he faces, a treatment programme has given Eric, of Colchester, a second chance. Eric was accepted on to an extended access programme for a treatment called Spinraza, which involves injecting the drug into his spinal fluid.

He will need it every four months for the rest of his life. The youngster’s place on the Spinraza programme has been funded for life by the company behind it.

Mary and James, 37, are already seeing signs of improvement, with some of Eric’s paralysis being reversed by the treatment.

Babies with SMA typically get worse over time until they are completely unable to breathe or move on their own.

Mary and James are now hoping to raise £17,000 to help pay for additional treatment over the next three years to help Eric further.

He will need physiotherapy and speech and language therapy which is not available on the NHS.

Mary said: “It will help him to get strong and not lose his strength.

“It will help to build his muscle up and give him a better quality of life. He will be able to move more.

“Physiotherapy is critical for regaining lost function and to help maintain existing function.”

This month is Spinal Muscular Atrophy International Awareness Month.There are different forms of SMA and a wide spectrum of how severely children, young people and adults are affected.

Approximately 1 in 40 people carry the faulty gene which means there are around 1.6 million carriers in the UK.

It is not possible to predict life expectancy accurately but for most children, without intervention for breathing difficulties, this has previously been estimated as less than two years.

The couple have collected £2,000 since starting fundraising earlier this year.

To find out more and donate visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/EricfightingSMA.