Michael’s Story

Michael was born and looked a healthy baby boy, but as he grew, some concerning delays became apparent in his development. At age two, he had difficulty speaking and had just started walking. After a long journey of medical evaluations and tests, Michael was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disease that causes muscles to deteriorate. As the disease progresses, DMD robs children of their ability to run, walk, move their hands, and eventually breathe. Most diagnosed with DMD are wheelchair bound by age 12, and are expected to live only to their early 20s due to heart and lung failure. Unwilling to watch Michael’s body and life being taken away from him, Michael’s parents and friends have made it their mission to do everything possible to fight for him and other children currently living with DMD. That is how Heal DMD was born.

Time is of essence. Too many children have already been lost to DMD and thousands are living with bleak prospects. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With your help, we can refuse to let DMD define the lives of boys like Michael, who have so much life to live and love to give. Recent developments in therapies and pharmaceuticals have helped slow the progression of the disease for certain mutation types. Emerging gene therapy biotechnologies have the potential to cure the disease by correcting the defective gene. We believe that we are at the cusp of finding the cure. By harnessing the power of hope and community, we can advocate and raise funds to eradicate DMD – until DMD is just a chapter of a full, vibrant life, not the whole story.

We are committed to working with leading institutions to help Michael with getting cutting-edge treatment based on groundbreaking research. This holds a huge potential for improving Michael’s condition and stopping advances of the disease. The development of this customized therapeutics requires significant amount of money, estimated at approximately $2-3 million USD. Heal DMD is calling on our community, on allies, and on YOU to help us reach this goal and give hope to save Michael and other kids like him.

Michael’s Story​

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Michael’s Story