A MUM who lost her young son to a rare illness is setting up a charity in his honour.

Thirteen-year-old Ahmar Javed, of Elderslie, tragically passed away from Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) in April this year.

The condition, which affects just one in 10,000 people, is an abnormal connection of veins and arteries which fuse together like a blood clot.

These can eventually rupture, leading to haemorrhage, which in Ahmar’s case was in his brain.

The loss of Ahmar, who was a pupil at Castlehead High School, in Paisley, has had a devastating impact on his parents Akram and Sameena, as well as younger sister Mariya, who attends Wallace Primary, in Elderslie.

However, his family is gaining some comfort by setting up their own charity, called Another Star In The Sky, which hopes to raise funds for more research into the disease and to help other young people going through similar battles.

Sameena told The Gazette: “Ahmar was one of the unlucky ones in that his condition was totally asymptomatic and couldn’t be treated.

“We didn’t know what an AVM was, even though I have a biomedical science background.

“There were no indications that he was living with this condition. The first we knew of it was when it was too late.

“Had we found out earlier, it would have been difficult to treat anyway because of where the AVM was situated.”

Following Ahmar’s death, the family want to raise awareness of this condition and fund research into possible treatments and cures.

Money raised from Another Star In The Sky will go towards the setting up of a rare conditions unit at Glasgow Children’s Hospital and also towards a bereavement centre there.

Sameena said: “No counselling or bereavement support was offered to us in the hospital, simply because there was no such service available at the time.

“If we can prevent other parents and children from going through what we did then it is a step in the right direction.”

Nearly 100 people were part of the Another Star In The Sky team that took part in the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity 10k run at the weekend.

This included friends and teachers who wanted to pay tribute to Ahmar.

Eight-year-old Mariya also completed the 10k and has so far raised about £400.

Sameena said: “Hopefully, through this fund, we can keep Ahmar’s name alive and raise awareness.”

Ahmar was a keen cricketer and his team-mates have arranged a charity match at Ferguslie Cricket Club, on Saturday, starting at 2pm, weather permitting.

To donate to Another Star In The Sky, visit the JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anotherstarintheskyofficial