Samantha Timmermans is aiming to turn Newark purple to raise awareness of CdLS.

A FERNWOOD mum is appealing for the town to go purple to raise awareness of a little-known condition.

Samantha Timmermans is taking part in International CdLS Awareness Day on Saturday, where homes, businesses and schools go purple to raise awareness of little-known condition Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS), a rare genetic disorder. and Samantha is calling on local people in the town to get involved.

Samantha's daughter, six-year-old Miley, suffers from CdLS, an extremely rare genetic condition that only occurs in one in 40,000 people and causes a range of health problems. Many are small at birth and remain small compared to children of the same age, and reflux, hearing and vision problems are also common. Many have limb abnormalities which range from extremely small hands to complete absence of forearms.

Miley was always small as a baby and suffered from reflux, but she wasn't diagnosed with the condition until she was two, and when she was in hospital, Samantha said that the disease is so rare that doctors were at a loss as to what was wrong with her.

She said: "The purple day is all about raising awareness, when she was diagnosed we'd never heard of it before, we had no idea what it was.

"If it helps just one child to get a proper diagnosis that would be amazing."

Miley's primary school, Chuter Ede primary school, have already pledged to get involved by holding a purple day on Friday, and more local businesses and groups are urged to do the same.

To get involved with CdLS Awareness day, or for more information on the condition, visit www.cdls.org.uk/