Some stories break your heart the moment you hear them. And for Tammy McDaid, a mom from Swansea in South Wales, that heartbreak came when she learned the truth about her little boy.

Her son Tate was first diagnosed with autism at just two years old. But deep down, Tammy felt something more was happening. For 18 long months, she pushed for answers. Test after test. Scan after scan. Finally, doctors gave her the news no parent should ever hear.

Four-year-old Tate has childhood dementia, caused by a rare genetic disorder called Sanfilippo Syndrome Type A. Children with the condition slowly lose every skill they once fought so hard to learn.

“When doctors told me, I knew my instincts were right,” Tammy said softly.
That moment changed everything.

She was told Tate will not live to see adulthood. Her little boy has never spoken a word—and now she knows she will never hear his voice. Yet she treasures the small joys. His bright smile. His love for climbing. The way he runs before she can catch him.

Tammy says children with Sanfilippo eventually lose the ability to walk, eat, and move on their own. She is racing against time, meeting with the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation and exploring clinical trials that may give Tate more good days. “I don’t have time to waste,” she said. “Tate turns five this month.”

She has begun fundraising—already raising £6,500—to seek treatments abroad. And if no treatment is possible, she will use every penny to create memories they can hold forever. Trips. Simple joys. Everyday moments before the disease takes more from him.

“It’s a cruel illness,” Tammy said. “But I have to try. I’m just a desperate mum giving her boy a fighting chance.”