In 2016 we welcomed Rufus into the world. He is a perfect, happy little boy who lives life to the full and laughs with his whole body. He loves animals, trucks and trains as well as making music and playing outside in the garden.

Rufus has achondroplasia which is the most common form of dwarfism. It means he'll only grow to about 4 ft tall and will look quite similar to Tyrion from Game of Thrones.

Achondroplasia comes with some health concerns - he's already had to have grommets fitted to fix his moderate hearing loss and has to have regular sleep studies and MRIs to ensure his spine isn't compressing his spinal cord. Achondroplasia basically means that he has short bones, there is nothing different about him mentally at all. His torso is average size but his legs, arms and fingers are much shorter than the average person. I'm sure he'll come across a lot of challenges in life but we will always support him to be independent and to conquer all.

It is a rare condition so there isn't much awareness of it and sometimes the only connection we've had to dwarfism is the people we see in films which means that the condition is frequently seen as an 'entertaining' one and is sometimes laughed at. There are charities such as the Restricted Growth Association who are working hard to ensure that people with dwarfism are treated with respect in the UK and beyond and are supported to live normal lives like the rest of us.

This summer, Kevin Sumner will be running the Manchester half marathon to raise money for the RGA and to raise awareness of dwarfism for Rufus's future

- please support him by donating!