A YEAR after being diagnosed with an incurable muscle-wasting condition, a young Dunfermline boy has returned from his third trip to America to receive his latest bout of vital treatment.

Wee Jamie Tierney's parents, Bobbie and Jamie, had their lives turned upside down when they were told their little boy had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

There is no cure for the illness, which is found mainly in boys and affects all muscles, including lungs, heart and the brain, but treatment is available which could slow down its progress.

Kind-hearted supporters have already raised thousands for the Pitcorthie Primary nursery pupil which has helped towards the cost of three trips for infusion treatment.

Having made two trips to South America and one earlier this month to America for a medication booster, Bobbie said her little fighter is doing well.

"He was bit tired after and we got him home and didn't notice the improvement we had expected," she said. "That is common with stem cell treatment which is the infusions. Sometimes you get a really good response and sometimes not so good. Sometimes it is working internally rather than on the mobility side.

"We got back and we were a bit unsure. We had not seen the response we were hoping for and it is not to say the treatment didn't work but it was just not how we expected. We made the decision to fly to America two weeks after we got back for a booster treatment. This is something they can give side by side with the stem cells which just makes it work a bit better which was good.

"He got the treatment and he was brilliant. Since then, we have seen a difference and we do feel it has worked. He is doing good and has got energy.

"We noticed at the end of his treatment, it slows down so it has been good to see him picked back up and have a bit more energy and he is not struggling as much."

Over the last 12 months, the family have dedicated themselves to raising enough cash to fund the treatment throughout Jamie's life – estimated at costing £80,000 a year – with a black tie ball, a football tournament and help from supporters all contributing.

"It has gone so quickly – it scares me a little bit because time is moving so fast," said Bobbie. "Time is not on our side so we are trying to move as fast as we can to make sure we can continue to keep Jamie as strong for longer.

"We have obviously not had a discussion with Jamie as he is too young to know any better. He says he is going to get stronger muscles and talks about it openly and says he gets blood and it is a bit sore but is ok. He makes me so proud.

"We have also started to do awareness stalls. We were at Tesco Fire Station at the weekend it was great. Everyone showed a lot of interest. We are trying to raise awareness of DMD but also about Jamie.

"We are trying to share Jamie's story and putting out that if people want to sponsor him from as little as £1 a month, they can. We have also got a lot of charity tubs and hoping that will raise a lot of awareness.

"A lot of people have been really kind and are asking for tubs and posters to help raise awareness. The support has been amazing.

"We are doing the kiltwalk on April 30. We kind of put it out hoping that people would join us and we now have over 40 people coming along to do it for Jamie.

"We also have a lot of people supporting us, running marathons, a lovely lady did a psychic night at the weekend and raised £1,100, so there's a lot of people doing things which is amazing."

Anyone wanting to help, or find out more, can do so by visiting the Wee Jamies Journey social media pages or the Wee Jamies Journey website.