THE MOTHER of a two-year-old suffering from a terminal illness has revealed her heartbreak at trying to cope with public prejudice.

Kate and Andy Hall from Harvington have been told their son Isaac, who has a rare genetic disease, is unlikely to reach his 16th birthday.

Despite the couple's anguish, they are struggling to cope with their son being ostracised by adults and children alike. They are now trying to raise awareness of Isaac's illness and appealing for understanding.

There are only 500 children in the World who suffer from Hunter Syndrome, which Mrs Hall likens to Alzheimer's because of the gradual deterioration, caused by lack of enzymes in the body.

Isaac, who was diagnosed last August, has already lost some of the speech he had learnt. He wears a protective helmet and suffers viruses every six weeks, which lead to breathing difficulties.

"We got upset when we found out but we could see that was making Isaac upset, so we just had to get on with it," Kate said.

However, what is making it harder for the family to lead a normal life is the reactions to Isaac's illness - people crossing the road to avoid them, which they believe is through ignorance.

"Parents have pulled their children away from Isaac thinking their children might catch the disease, which can't happen," Kate said. Sometimes she's been reduced to tears.

Isaac attends Avonvale Special Needs Playgroup but needs specialist equipment like an adapted tricycle, which the couple are saving for, and already weighing three stone, he needs elasticated clothes.

Kate and Andy are also preparing themselves for the inevitable and are using Isaac's savings account to save for his funeral.

"It's not so much the life expectancy I can't deal with, it's the deterioration in between," Kate said.

She said she can't have any more children because she carries the defective gene. "I would have wanted a dozen kids but Andy said 'no way' so we settled for two and then we found out about this. I would have loved a little girl."