A HEARTBROKEN mother is appealing for help to set up a charity in memory of her son, who died from a rare congenital syndrome when he was just 14 months old.

Elizabeth and Michael Dobbins, from Heswall, hope to raise as much awareness as possible of Vacterl syndrome, a disease that causes abnormalities of numerous body systems, including vertebra, renal, esophageal, limb and other defects.

Their son, Mackenzie Andrew Michael Dobbins, lost his battle with the condition after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest in the early hours of March 7, last year. 

Elizabeth, who is also mum to one-year-old Ethan, described that night as a “horrific experience”, with her son rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and then transferred to London’s Great Ormond Street.

Vacterl syndrome - or Vacterl association as it is also known – gets its name from the abnormalities it causes.

Young Mackenzie suffered with all of the abnormalities linked with the condition, except for limb problems.

“There have only been a few cases of this syndrome in the UK and it’s a very unheard of rare condition which got control over Mackenzie until he lost his battle,” said 28-year-old Elizabeth, who works at Clatterbridge Hospital.

She added: “I’m also a full time mum and I don’t know how to go about setting up Mackenzie’s own charity so I’d like help on how to do this.

“I want to start doing lots of fundraising for Mackenzie’s Vacterl association so if people can come forward and help me to start, that would be great.”

Anyone who can help Elizabeth should email her at lizmike19@hotmail.co.uk