VIDEO: 'Mummy, am I going to die?' Parents fight for their terminally ill boys' futures

Archie and his four-year-old twin brothers Isaac and George are just like any other boys you might know. They're happy, well-adjusted and extremely pleasant. Except the boys have a neuromuscular disease called Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. DMD is a devastating condition that has no cure or treatment.

It means that the only three children of Padraic and Paula Naughton are unlikely to live beyond their late teens or early 20s.

The boys don't know that their condition is terminal. They know that their muscles are not working as they should, but that the trust - Join Our Boys - set up by their Mummy and Daddy, is doing everything it can to ensure they're given the best treatment they can.

Despite this, both parents think Archie may be aware that something more serious is wrong.

"I was crying every day. I would do my best not to let him see me, but at nighttime it's particularly difficult," Paul said.

"One night, I was reading him a story and I started to cry. He said to me 'Mummy, am I going to die?'. We had being seeing lots of doctors and obviously he was frightened.

"I just explained to him that we're all going to die and that his muscles don't work properly, but that we're going to do everything we can to help him. That was they only time he's said anything, but I think he does know. He's a remarkable child. Everyone says it, it's not just us."

Although the brothers are still quite young and are happy, their father said he can see the decline is health already.

"Archie is exceptionally resilient and he wants to perform like every other child his own age, but we see him every day declining in relation to his mobility," Padraic said.

"The sense of helplessness we have is phenomenal."

Although rugby fan Archie might know more than his parents imagine, they say they are sure the twins don't know.

"Everything is a joke to them. Physical therapy and occupational therapy. It's all a game. That's great," Paula said.

"I think because Archie does physical and occupational therapy too, they see it as part and parcel of life," Padraic added.

"Because their eldest brother, 'Ra-Ra' as they call him,  does all this stuff, it's normal for them as well so they don't see anything unusual about it."

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Despite the phenomenal heartache, Paula and Padraic have been constantly supported by the people of Roscommon, who very often hold events and fundraisers. This Sunday, there are lots of locals heading to Dublin to take part in the city's marathon - some of whom will be wearing  orange tutus.

This wasn't the first time the town of Roscommon was painted in orange - the boys' favourite colour. On May 1st this year, it was the first ever Wear Orange day in aid of Join Our Boys. The parents are hoping it will be a national event next year. Locals lined the streets adorned in orange in support of the three young lads.

It wasn't just the people that were wrapped up in orange. Shop fronts and lamp posts were changed to orange for the day. The boys mother said it was amazing.

"The things that's amazing is that we're surrounded by extraordinary people. The community...I don't know what the word is. Whether it's phenomenal or fantastic. They've just been absolutely amazing," Paula said.

"Without the community, we couldn't have achieved what we're achieved. They have enabled us to keep going. They're the people who enable us to get out of bed and give us strength in the morning, when we're struggling and don't want to go anywhere," Padraic added.

"We know there are so many people fighting our cause and helping us to come about with a solution.

"We're indebted and humbled by the people of Roscommon."

ACTION

After their three children's diagnosis in 2012, it took Paula and Padraic a long time to begin to process their situation.

"Their was no point wallowing in the situation that we were in. We felt we needed to take action, because we want to one day say to our children than Mommy and Daddy did everything to try and bring about a solution to this problem," Padraic said.

"Time is against our children," said their mother.

"We need to raise an awful lot of money, very, very quickly."

For more information on Join Our Boys, visit their website or Facebook page.