The devoted parents of a young boy with a rare disease are walking from Wellington to Auckland to fundraise for his treatment.
Three-year-old Elijah has microcephaly, a disease which means he has a small brain.
This ultimately effects the rest of his body, preventing him from carrying out the normal childhood of a typical three-year-old.
Elijah is legally blind, fed through a tube and has a total of 14 health issues.
His parents have turned to the public to seek financial help for their son.
Captain Tane North, father of Elijah says it’s about "giving Elijah the best chance he can have at life, so fundraising for him is something we can’t afford".
New Zealand doesn’t have the resources to treat Elijah, which means the family of three has to go to Australia.
Captain Laura North says: "We are taking him to a place in Sydney called the NAPA centre and there they do intensive blocks, so three weeks with a therapy at one time, and they do a mixture of traditional therapy and another type of therapy called CME."
It follows on from a previous treatment he’s had there and believed to have made great progress.
"When we first went Elijah couldn't sit independently and he's gone from doing now being able to sit to almost crawling and to walking in the walker, so each time we've been we've had a huge improvement.”
Besides the treatment, they’ve been fortunate to have the support of their family and the NZ Defence Force.
The ‘Walk for Wonder Boy Mission’ starts in Wellington and will end in Auckland.
Elijah’s Dad believes he is ready for the long walk.
"Hopefully I've done most of the base fitness overseas and previously in my career so it's matter of maintaining and staying injury free now."
The walk starts on March 13.
Click here to make a donation to Elijahs cause #WALKFORWONDERBOY
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