Rachael Roberts, 39, gave birth to her son Joseph in January 2013 but she encountered every mother’s worst nightmare when her baby was rushed for emergency surgery within a day of being born.

The new mum is now taking on her biggest challenge of running 26.2 miles round the streets of London on Sunday, April 13.

Rachael said: “Joseph was premature and hadn’t had a bowel movement. He was vomiting and was immediately taken for an x-ray where we discovered he had a perforated bowel. He was rushed to surgery at 2am.” It was following the surgery that blood tests showed Joseph has cystic fibrosis.

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-shortening genetic condition — only half live to celebrate their 40th birthday. It causes the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, to become clogged with thick sticky mucus, resulting in chronic infections and inflammation of the lungs.

It directly affects around 10,000 people in the UK and the faulty gene is carried by over two million people in the UK, most of whom have no idea.

But many people don’t know they are a carrier of the gene until they and their partner who also has to be a carrier give birth to a child with the condition. Rachael added: “Finding out Joseph had cystic fibrosis was a complete surprise — we had no history of it on our families — I was shocked to discover 1 in 25 people are carriers.

“When we found out I was absolutely devastated and scared.” People with cystic fibrosis often look perfectly healthy. But it’s a lifelong challenge involving a vast daily intake of drugs, time-consuming physiotherapy and isolation from others with the condition.

Despite the shock of the news Rachael and Joseph have made tremendous progress and are positive about the future.

You can sponsor Rachael at www.justgiving.com/Rachael-Roberts8, money raised will enable the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to invest in cutting-edge research to develop better treatments and, ultimately find a cure.