A community of fitness fans in Newtownards is coming together to row three million metres for a local girl with a life-limiting condition.

Three-year-old Sophia Clark was born with campomelic dysplasia, a very rare genetic disorder that affects skeletal, respiratory and other organ development, along with various other health complexities.

Sophia requires 24/7 life support, and her family needs a safe, accessible and flexible home, that will adapt to meet to her ever-growing complex needs.

The toddler's mum, Leah, joined the CrossFit Pioneer gym as a way to take care of herself after Sophia was born, but since then, she says her entire family has become an integral part of the 'Pioneer family' itself.

"My mental health took a real tumble [after having Sophia], it was difficult to find support," Leah told the Belfast Telegraph.

"She wasn't even supposed to make it past 25 weeks in the womb.

"Whenever we found out about her condition, she was five days old, and the genetics team took us into a wee side room and said: 'Listen, Sophia's condition is super rare'.

"I think it was something like 5% (of babies that have it) make it past a week old. And at that stage, it was day five and so - basically they were saying Sophia's obviously going to pass over the weekend."

Sophia requires a tracheostomy (a small tube in her windpipe) and a ventilator, along with other specialised medical equipment and needs, for "round-the-clock" care.

Due to the complexity of her needs, Leah and her husband Alex must be constantly present, leaving little opportunity for personal time, and creating significant emotional and financial strain.

Shortly after birth, Sophia also endured extended stays in neonatal and intensive care, including a critical emergency where dangerously high carbon dioxide levels led to urgent resuscitation and a transfer to a specialist hospital.

She had to stay in hospital for most of her first year, which caused her mother to have extreme panic attacks and stress.

Around five months after Sophia was born, Leah saw an advertisement for a fitness 'boot camp' for the nearby Pioneer gym.

"I was like, 'do you know what, I'm going to start looking after myself.' So I started in February, and then I got my husband involved," she explained.

"Sophia has to come to the gym with me. No matter where we go, she has to come. So she is completely and utterly obsessed with Pioneer gym. She cracks up whenever we have to leave and everything. So she's made a real impact in the Pioneer family."

Karl Williams, owner and head coach of CrossFit Pioneer, asked the Clark family a few weeks ago what they could do 'as a gym family' to help Sophia, and Leah explained that they are due to have a specialist extension built in their home for her in January.

Although they have received a government grant to help, she estimates that the entire project will cost at least another £30,000 just to finish and furnish for Sophia's needs, leaving them under extreme finical burdens.

"So Karl came up with a crazy idea of rowing for three million metres," the Donaghadee woman added.

The rowing initiative will take place over a weekend starting Friday, November 21, at the CrossFit Pioneer gym.

All funds raised will go towards Sophia's next extension, which is to include a ceiling hoist system, a fully adapted wet room, wider doorways, a dedicated play space and a sensory garden where she will be able to play with her two older brothers, and a dedicated storeroom for heavy medical equipment and supplies.

Karl said that Sophia is "one in a million and her chances of a life were even slimmer than that, which is why we will be rowing a million metres for every year she's been with us".

"She lights up the gym when she arrives, exudes happiness but the truth is, her condition is complex," he stated on the gym's online fundraising page for the event.

"Sophia has no voice due to a tracheostomy (though still makes herself heard), can't walk, and daily defies what doctors thought possible.

"Sophia faces challenges most of us can't comprehend, and for the family to support their daughters' everyday needs, they require an environment fit for purpose.... So would you join with us, donate and significantly impact a little life beyond how she has already impacted ours."

Leah and Alex will be taking part in the challenge themselves, and so far they think at least 80 people will be joining in too.

Leah added: "Pioneer definitely saved my mental health, like one million percent, and I say this to them like all the time.

"It's not just a gym, it's a family. It's so isolating, you know, having a disabled child, but they just make you feel like right at home, and I'm just so thankful that Sophia is thriving, not just surviving."