TWO Bendigo families who both have a son diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy are hoping National Superhero Week has raised awareness.
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Seven-year-old Ryan Healy and two-year-old Eddie Sherwood both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of the worst strands of the disease.
About one in 600 Australians has some form of Muscular Dystrophy. It is a progressive muscle-wasting disorder with 60 different variations.
Ryan’s mother Charlotte Healy said the hardest part of the disease was knowing what will be taken away from him.
“Everything that he will learn to do will be taken away, that’s the hardest part. Knowing he is going to reach those milestones and then lose it. It’s heart breaking,” she said.
“There is no cure and no real treatment. The only thing you can do is give them steroids which prolongs the affects.”
It is expected that Ryan will be wheelchair bound by age nine.
Eddie was diagnosed with MD 11 months ago and it has been a mental challenge for the Sherwood family.
“It’s sort of new to us. We’re still getting to know the doctors and people you deal with,” Eddie’s father Andrew said.
“Mentally, it’s been a big backflip. It’s a day-to-day thing and I guess once the treatment starts it is a progressive downturn until he is in a wheelchair.
“There’s kids out there (with MD) who are 15 or 16 and still walk but it is obviously a struggle.”
The steroid treatment that Eddie will go through cannot begin until he is five years old.
But through the Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital, the Healys and Sherwoods have been able to support each other.
Eddie’s mother Krystal Sherwood said the hospital made a Facebook page for families to help support each other.
“There’s so many other kids out in Victoria suffering from it,” she said.
“We thought it was important to get the awareness out there because so many people don’t know much about (Muscular Dystrophy).
“They can’t see it because (Eddie and Ryan) look normal but that’s the hard part. People don’t realise how bad it is until they see the kids in a wheelchair.”