SHE is a little fighter who battles a rare liver condition every day.

Now in honour of three-year-old Matilda’s strength, her auntie Fran Kenway-Christopher is going to take on the London Marathon for the first time.

Fran, who is raising funds for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) said: “My lovely niece, Matilda, was diagnosed with the rare liver condition, biliary atresia, when she was just three weeks old. The cause of biliary atresia is not known so it cannot be prevented. At just five weeks old Tilly underwent a five hour operation at Kings College Hospital called a ‘Kasai Procedure’ where part of her intestine was taken and attached to her liver to create a new bile duct. After 10 days in isolation Tilly’s operation was deemed a success and she was able to come home.”

Today, though Tilly is a bubbly full-of-fun three-year-old, she has to take daily medication for her condition and will do for the rest of her life.

Biliary atresia is a rare condition where the liver does not form properly and the bile ducts - vital for liver health and digestion - become blocked.

Her condition has to be monitored closely as the ‘Kasai’ could fail at any time and there is an 80 per cent chance she may one day need a liver transplant.

Fran, from Poole, said: “However at the moment Tilly is one of the lucky ones and I am running to raise awareness of this rare condition which is often not diagnosed early enough and to thank the ‘Children’s Liver Disease foundation’ for the help and support they have given to families like my nieces’ and the hope that one day a cure will be found.”

Fran, who is an account manager for Bournemouth-based Glenigan Ltd said her friends from Poole Runners and other local running clubs, Poole AC and Sunday Running Dorset have helped with training.

She said: “ I am really looking forward to the day – it’s a huge personal challenge and I will be so proud to complete this for Tilly and all the other children who are living with liver disease every day.”

Alison Taylor, CLDF Chief Executive, added: “We are the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all forms of childhood liver disease which we do by providing information to healthcare professionals, emotional support for families, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. We rely entirely on voluntary donations so we are delighted that Fran has chosen to run her first London Marathon for us. We shall be there on the day to cheer her on and hope she thoroughly enjoys the experience.”

To support Fran go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Francesca-Christopher