A MUM is hosting an extra Christmas for her son who has an incurable condition and is asking members of the public to send him cards.

Katrina Ruthven's eight-year-old son Alexis has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle-wasting condition that is incurable.

He is only expected to live until his late twenties - prompting her to host an "extra" Christmas for him on July 13.

She posted on Mumsnet asking for people to send him summer Christmas cards and has received more than 180 messages and over 300 shares of her Facebook page.

More than 20 cards have arrived so far, with many more in the pipeline. The family plans to host an Australian-style Christmas in the sun complete with Christmas tree.

Mrs Ruthven, 30, from Southwold in Suffolk, said Alexis is "very excited" to have another Christmas with his three younger sisters and had "asked for as many cards as possible".

She added: "We know that Alexis won't have as many Christmases as most people and with all the hospital appointments, physio and medication, we thought he deserved an extra one.

"It is something extra to look forward to. We will be having an Australian Christmas with a barbecue, and we'll be getting our Christmas tree out.

"There will be presents for everybody, he's very excited about it. He knows it's only family presents because Father Christmas is too busy to come in the summer."

Mrs Ruthven, who has a family history on her mother's side of Duchenne, was 18 weeks pregnant when she discovered she also carries the genetic fault that can cause the condition.

She was told there was a 50% chance her son would be born with Duchenne. She and her husband Adrian, 44, a bar supervisor, decided to continue with the pregnancy.

Alexis was six months old when he was diagnosed with the condition, which usually only affects boys.

Mrs Ruthven, who runs a Facebook support group of families affected by Duchenne, said: "Alexis has a wheelchair that he uses for longer distances.

"He takes steroids 10 days on and 10 days off but that's all there is by way of treatment at the moment.

"We have had a downstairs bedroom built because he is struggling with the stairs and he will lose the ability to walk within the next four years probably. He's not expected to live past his late twenties."

For now, Alexis loves nothing more than playing in the garden with his sisters Eva, four, Beatrice, three, and Elizabeth, 22 months.

Mrs Ruthven said: "He's obsessed with London, it's his favourite place in the world. He loves the landmarks and the Underground. He's been three or four times.

"He also likes cars and Lego and we're taking him to Legoland after we've had our summer Christmas."

Mrs Ruthven educates Alexis at home and says one of the ways she copes with his prognosis is to "keep busy" and try to raise awareness of Duchenne.

Duchenne is caused by the lack of a protein called dystrophin and is a serious condition that causes progressive muscle weakness.

Muscle fibres break down and are replaced by fibrous and/or fatty tissue.

About 100 boys are born with the condition each year in the UK and around 2,500 boys and young men are living with the condition at any one time.