text: A home video of a six-year-old boy taking his morning pills to treat cystic fibrosis has had more than one million hits in just a week – with no sign of global interest waning. The  footage of Jesse O'Brien was taken by his mother Heidi, 37, to encourage the brave youngster to take the vast volume of drugs he has to consume every single day to battle his terminal illness. 'I've always wanted to be famous so this is just brilliant,' says Jesse, from Kesgrave, Suffolk, who is seen taking nine out of his daily dose of 45 pills. Scroll down for video . Jesse O'Brien, pictured with his mother Heidi, has to take a daily dose of 45 pills to treat cystic fibrosis . A video of six-year-old Jesse O'Brien (left) taking his morning pills (right) to treat cystic fibrosis has gone viral . Heidi, a nail technician, said her idea to provide encouragement with ‘likes’ on Facebook from family and friends exceeded her wildest expectations within just one hour. 'Jesse’s been in and out of hospital his whole life with his cystic fibrosis, and I remembered once taking a picture to post on Facebook and it lifting his spirits,' Heidi revealed. 'For the past two months Jesse has been getting increasingly frustrated with the amount of medication he has to take, and last Wednesday morning I had the brainwave to try the same trick. 'Jesse’s always loved attention, so he agreed, I posted it up on Facebook and YouTube, then his dad took him to school.' The footage of Jesse (pictured) was taken by his mum Heidi, 37, last Wednesday to encourage the brave youngster to take the vast volume of drugs he has to consume every single day to battle his terminal illness . It was only after putting their five-month-old son Rocco down for a morning nap just over an hour later that Heidi realised this time would be different. 'I was expecting ten or maybe 20 views and likes, but saw there were over 4,000,' she said. 'I remember staring at the my phone thinking there must be some mistake, so I called my husband Chris, and he was as shocked as me. 'I sat there crying at how amazing it was to have so much support from complete strangers. I spent most of that day personally thanking everyone who’d posted words of encouragement.' By the time Heidi picked up Jesse from Heath Primary School, they had more than 12,000 views. 'I told Jesse the news when we got home and screamed and dived on the sofa – he was hysterically happy, which brought tears to my eyes,' she says. By 7pm, around Jesse’s bed time, there were over 70,000 hits, so Jesse made a poster saying: ‘Oh My God, this will definitely help me take my meds!’ Jesse lives at home with his mum and dad, siblings Brooklyn Randell, 14, Tigerlily O'Brien, five, and new four-month-old arrival Rocco O'Brien (pictured) Jessie pictured with his sister Tigerlily during a visit to Legoland . His mum posted a picture of Jesse holding that poster up on Facebook as a way of saying thank you to all the well-wishers, realising she no longer had time to send individual messages of gratitude. By the time Heidi and Chris went to bed that evening they were up to 100,000, then 200,000 by the end Thursday. 'We made a poster each time we hit another 100,000, but it was snowballing so fast by the time we were finishing one poster, we’d hit the next target – it was crazy,' Heidi says. 'Of course Jesse’s only six years old, so anything over 1,000 to him is incomprehensible, but he could tell by our reaction how this had gone viral.' The video finally hit the one million mark exactly a week after Heidi posted it, first thing on Wednesday morning. 'We decided to post another video of Jesse telling everyone in his own words as we had to show how much this meant,' she says. 'Since then I haven’t been able to tell how much more than one million we’ve gone to, because my phone can’t show a bigger number than one million – I’m going to have to upgrade my phone!' 'I've always wanted to be famous so this is just brilliant,' says Jesse, based in Kesgrave, Suffolk, who must take 45 pills every day to manage his condition . The family has received personal messages from all over the world, Nigeria to Canada to New Zealand, and so many words of support from other families affected by cystic fibrosis . The family has received personal messages from all over the world, Nigeria to Canada to New Zealand, and so many words of support from other families affected by cystic fibrosis. Every day Jesse has to take 45 different pills, use a nebuliser to administer more medication, on top of four 15-minute physio sessions.. 'It’s crushing seeing him so upset at all this pain he has to go through,' Heidi says. 'It’s about three hours a day, and it’s only because he’s hit this more aware age that he’s protesting, and I honestly can’t blame him. 'But it’s my job as his mum to protect him as best I can against this terrible illness which we know will most likely take him from us in the not too distant future.' Jesse was just a two-week-old baby when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The devastating genetic disorder hits the lungs and digestive system as they become clogged with thick sticky mucus. He was rushed to the Royal London Hospital and prescribed drugs to tackle the condition, a regime which has changed and grown with each passing year. 'Because of the video he’s now fine with the pills, but he still hates using his nebuliser,' Heidi says. 'The trouble with cystic fibrosis is that it doesn't show - you can't see it, so it’s harder to let people know something is wrong and to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for what is now an untreatable illness. 'People have said they’ve shown the video to their son or daughter who needs medication and it’s helped them a lot. Others are saying "Wow, if he can take nine tablets, why can't mine?"' Jesse was just a two-week-old baby when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis . Jesse plays as a striker for Woodbridge Peckers and supports Ipswich Town, Liverpool and Barcelona . His dad, Chris O'Brien, 39, a self-employed builder, said: 'I even forget he's got CF a lot of the time. 'All my family say Jesse is a true little fighter. They always say to me, "you're lucky he is how he is, because he will fight it".' Jesse lives at home with his siblings Brooklyn Randell, 14, Tigerlily O'Brien, five, and new four-month-old arrival Rocco O'Brien. The family were given the bombshell after Rocco’s birth that while he doesn’t have the condition, he carries the same faulty gene so will need have any prospective partner tested to avoid the very risk of their children having cystic fibrosis. 'We were told that if he’d born with CF 20 years ago his life expectancy would’ve been just ten, but because of medical developments that figure’s around 30 now,' Chris says. 'Every year that goes by more advances are made, and we’re obviously doing everything we can to raise awareness and funds. We’re just taking each day as it comes.' Jesse, pictured as a toddler, was just a two-week-old baby when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The devastating genetic disorder hits the lungs and digestive system as they become clogged with  mucus . Jesse plays as a striker for Woodbridge Peckers and supports Ipswich Town, Liverpool and Barcelona. James Barrow, spokesman from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust charity which has been supporting the family, says: 'It's great to see young people like Jesse raising awareness of cystic fibrosis. 'His video illustrates how young people living with the condition often have to undertake a lengthy and difficult regime on a daily basis just to keep well.' To support children like Jesse, text JESSE to 70300 to donate £3 to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Cystic fibrosis is a life-limiting genetic condition. Only half of those diagnosed with the illness live to celebrate their 40th birthday. It causes the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, to become clogged with thick sticky mucus, resulting in chronic infections and inflammation of the lungs. Cystic fibrosis directly affects around 10,000 people in the UK. The faulty gene is carried by over two million people in the UK, most of whom have no idea. If two carriers have children, there’s a one in four chance their child will have the condition, which slowly destroys the lungs and digestive system. People with cystic fibrosis often look perfectly healthy. But it poses a lifelong challenge involving daily intake of drugs, time-consuming physiotherapy and isolation from others with the condition. It places a huge burden on those around them and the condition can critically escalate at any moment. Olivia and her family have been supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, which is in its 50th year. The charity aims to fundraise for better treatments and investment into cutting edge research so that people with cystic fibrosis can also look forward to their fiftieth birthdays. To donate to the charity or to find out more about the condition, visit their website here.
target: Jesse O'Brien is seen swallowing nine of his daily dose of 45 pills .
  His mum hoped the footage would amuse and encourage him .
  The video is now helping other kids feel better about the daunting task .