A dedicated Wimbledon mother-of-four who manages to hold together her illness-stricken family has been nominated for a Merton Civic Award by her husband.

Stephanie Nimmo looks after her wheelchair-bound daughter Daisy, 10, who suffers from an extremely rare life-limiting genetic illness called Costello Syndrome that affects many parts of the body and means she requires constant care.

Her two boys who are 12 and 18 years-old have Asperger’s syndrome, her 16-year-old daughter is currently preparing for her GCSEs and her husband Andy was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in November last year.

"Obviously it is not all plain sailing but we are not all ‘woe is me’. We take the attitude that you just have to get on with it as best you possibly can," Mrs Nimmo said.

Only 300 children worldwide have Costello Syndrome and Daisy has been unfortunate enough to have intestinal failure which led to her spending a year in hospital.

To help keep Daisy from spending all of her time in hospital Mrs Nimmo undertook specialist training allowing her to administer the intravenous drip Daisy needs at home.

Not only does she manage to balance all these responsibilities but she also finds time to run marathons, raising over £5,000 for the Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospice which helps the family who live in Cannon Hill Lane.

"My friends think I’m crazy, I find running keeps me sane. It is time for me where I’m not a mum or a nurse, I’m just Steph," she said.

Keen music fan Mrs Nimmo runs twice a week with the Wimbledon Windmilers and has completed several marathons and one ultra-marathon.

In June she will enter the London Enduro, an overnight marathon where competitors aim to complete as many 10km laps around Wimbledon Common as possible between 7pm and 7am.

The dedicated mother, who used to work as a marketing professional, keeps a blog which details the ups and downs of her family life called www.wasthisintheplan.co.uk.

On the blog she says the family has met the many challenges life has thrown at them with positivity, optimism and a fighting spirit, as well as a wicked taste in trench humour.

She has been nominated in the parent and carer category.

There is still time to nominate someone special. Visit the website here www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/mertoncivicawards/ or fill out a form in the Wimbledon Guardian newspaper.