THE parents of a brave little girl born with one of the rarest conditions in the world have raised money to say thank you to doctors.

Dulcie Rackham, of Holland-on-Sea, was born at Colchester General Hospital last February through a natural birth.

Parents Brady and Hayley, as well as their son Jack, three, were expecting a perfectly healthy addition to their family after a smooth pregnancy.

But after she was born, doctors knew there was something wrong.

Mr and Mrs Rackham had an anxious three-day wait until the tests came back to reveal Dulcie had unbalanced chromosomes.

Dulcie’s condition is so rare there is no specific name for it and it is not known if there is another person in the world who has exactly the same condition.

Mr Rackham said: “She was kept in Colchester General Hospital for eight months because she wasn’t well enough to come home.

“Because Dulcie’s stomach is so small, she needs to be fed 19 hours a day through a gastrostomy tube, which feeds her directly into her tummy.”

Wanting to thank the doctors, nurses and midwives at Colchester General Hospital, the family decided to hold fundraisers.

On Christmas Day Mr Rackham dived into the sea at the Clacton Christmas Swim in his wife’s underwear with friends to raise money.

Donations have also come in thick and fast from people at Clacton Golf Club, which is run by his dad.

Mr Rackham has now been able to hand over a cheque for £1,000 to Colchester General Hospital’s children’s ward.