A Whakamaru family is turning to the community to get their 3-year-old the medical treatment he needs.
Tama Jai Trueman was born with hypotonia, a condition that reduces muscle tone, strength and control. Tama's family is raising funds to take him to the Napa Centre in Los Angeles to receive "neurosuit" therapy to help develop his muscle control because the therapy isn't available in New Zealand.
His mother Kirsty Trueman said Tama did not move around like their other children had.
"His eyes would just sort of roll. We wondered if he was blind but it was because he couldn't control his eye muscles. He was struggling to breathe so he was given oxygen and taken to Waikato Hospital. He remained on full-time oxygen at home for the first year of his life because he wasn't able to breathe deeply enough on his own."