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Hi, my name is Ryan Healy and I am 13 years old.

 

I was diagnosed in February 2014 with a disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This disease is fatal and I will be lucky to reach the age of between 20 and 30 years.

 

Symptoms of DMD usually appear between 2 – 5 years of age and may include difficulty: running, jumping, climbing, and rising from the floor, frequent falls, enlarged calf muscles, toe walking, and delays in language acquisition. The first muscles affected are those around the hips and upper thigh. Weakness gradually progresses to include all skeletal muscles, the muscles of respiration, and the heart.

 

There isn’t a cure for this disease yet, but I am hopeful that one day there will be one to help the many boys, like me, enjoy the things that other boys enjoy doing. In the meantime, I need lots of support both physically, emotionally, and financially to get me through what lies ahead.

 

I live with my mum Charlotte, dad Michael, and sister Sophie and brother Xavier, in Bendigo. I am in year 8 in my second year at high school. I like to hang out with my friends at school, but I can’t do all the things I would like to as I get very tired very quickly and I fall over a lot.

 

The majority of my time is spent in an electric wheelchair so that I can go about my day as normally as possible.

 

I will need constant care for the most basic needs of a young boy. With more research and discovery, my life expectancy will be lengthened with generous support through fundraising for the most basic needs I require. We hope we can help other DMD families in the Bendigo region and raise awareness of this fatal condition, as we follow the process of starting a foundation.

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NDIS have been great in supporting and providing treatment and equipment, but there are limitations to what they provide. The fundraising we do here is to help bridge the gaps.

 

Mum and Dad need your help to provide me with therapy, equipment, and resources to help me reach my potential and to make my life easier on them and me. If you can help, please click the donate button.

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