THE parents of a three-monthold baby with a puzzling health condition will raise money for the charity that helped them through the challenging first few months of her life.

Richard, 25, and Terri Morrison, 23, from Darlington, have had problems with baby Amelia since she was born on Christmas Day.

She was featured in The Northern Echo’s Boxing Day newspaper, when Mrs Morrison said Amelia was the “best present” they could have wished for.

However, she was born seven weeks premature and, since then, has developed symptoms of type one spinal muscular atrophy, a muscle wasting condition, has suffered heart failure, and also had a collapsed lung.

Amelia has been for a number of MRI scans, but results have not shown conclusively what is wrong with her.

Mr Morrison said he and his wife have found the situation very traumatic.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster ride. She is so unpredictable – a puzzling baby,”

he said.

“At the minute, she is doing well, and she smiled for the first time the other day.

“We are just thinking about those milestone moments and seeing how she develops by the month.”

Amelia is living in the respiratory ward at Newcastle’s RVI for the next few weeks, where she may have to have to undergo surgery on her stomach in that time. Her parents are living at Crawford House, free accommodation offered to them by the Sick Childrens Trust.

Mr Morrison, a warehouse worker, said he wants to give something back to the charity, which has put up him and his wife at the house in Newcastle for weeks at a time while Amelia is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

He said: “Without the charity, we wouldn’t be able to be with Amelia 24-7. It has been a home from home, they have made us feel so welcome. The electricity, the bedding getting washed, the toilet roll, it’s all paid for by the charity.

“We now want to help other parents going through a similar situation.”

The couple aim to do a weekend of fundraising in Darlington and Richmond, North Yorkshire, which is in the early stages of planning, on August 26 and 27.

For more information on the charity, visit sickchildrens trust.org