Joining Jack

It came to my attention recently that there is a young boy living in Charnock Richard, called Jack, who has an incurable disease. The disease is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and is one of the most common fatal genetic disorders to affect children around the world. Approximately one in every 3,500 boys worldwide is afflicted with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

It is a devastating and currently incurable muscle-wasting disease. Symptoms usually appear in male children before the age of five (Jack is 4 and looking forward to life, as would any 4 year old). Progressive muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis eventually spreads to the arms, neck, and other areas. By age 10, braces may be required for walking, and most patients are confined to a wheelchair by age 12.

Eventually, this progresses to complete paralysis and increasing difficulty in breathing, requiring ventilation. The condition is terminal and death usually occurs before the age of 30.

Please (no, forget the politeness) You must visit www.joiningjack.org to read about the charity, you will be amazed and I make no excuse for keeping on about this in future posts.

The coming years are not going to get any easier for Jack’s family and they will need the support of our community.

Follow jack on twitter @alljoinjack, and if you are doing any sponsored events this year I think this is a worthy cause.