Blake Roberts is a boy with a rare genetic condition. He’s four years old, and at this young age, his parents had already been told by doctors that he’d never walk or talk.
But his mother, Charlotte, and his father, Darren, never quite believed that.
When Blake was born, he appeared healthy. But by the time he was four months old, he couldn’t hold his head up, and parents suspected something was wrong.
He went for genetic testing, and was diagnosed with 15q25-QTER, making him one of only six children with the condition.
“Because the condition was so rare, there was no information or support available,” says Charlotte. “The doctors couldn’t tell us what lay ahead. They told us that the other five children, like Blake, could not walk or talk and that we should not expect too much.”
However, it soon became clear that their son wasn’t like the others.
“It has become something of a tradition for Blake to smash his milestones at Christmas,” says Charlotte, mother of four. “He first learned to sit up on New Year’s Day 2012, he started to crawl for Christmas 2013 and at Christmas 2014 he used his walking frame for the first time.”
Not only that, but he lived through a twisted bowel and a coma. Doctors thought he wouldn’t survive, but he pulled through.
His parents were shocked and amazed yet again this year.
For his nativity play at his school, where he played a sheep visiting baby Jesus, he took twelve steps all by himself.
“Darren and me were in the audience, but we had no idea he was going to walk,” said Charlotte. “He got to his feet and took about twelve steps across the stage. I was in shock. We had no idea he could walk so far. I burst into tears and everyone who knew Blake was crying too.”
Charlotte says that this is all she wants for Christmas.
“For me, Christmas is complete,” she says. “I don’t need any presents or any material treats. Just to see my little boy walking, and the happiness in his eyes, has made my Christmas wish come true.”
