'We put our baby to bed one night and she woke up a different child'

The Jack and Jill foundation has been vital for one Co Kerry family. They share their story ahead of the charity's Up The Hill campaign next month

Marley Mae with her mum Zsuzsanna, brothers Abel and Ben, and dad Stephen. Marley Mae is only one of 20 worldwide to be diagnosed with EARS 2.

When Stephen and Zsuzsanna Mitten put their six-month-old baby to bed in their Killorglin home one night in 2019, they never expected that she would soon end up in the hospital with a condition so rare that Irish doctors couldn’t pinpoint it.

Marley Mae, now two and a half, had been a happy, albeit tired, baby before she became the first person in Ireland to be diagnosed with EARS 2, a mitochondrial disease that leads to developmental delay, feeding difficulties, and seizures. As they adjust to life with Marley’s condition, the family is hoping to help raise vital funds for the Jack and Jill foundation’s Up The Hill campaign.