PPMD is leading the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy community through its commitment to research, education, advocacy and compassion.
March 19, 2010
Life is a Game
Watch Taja’s fantastic rap. Wheelchair football is liberating for football-loving boys and young men with Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and other disabling conditions. And it brings a whole new level of meaning to the beautiful game. Accompanied by musicians from the CBSO and a choir from Joseph Leckie Community College in Walsall that features Taja’s amazing rap, Bradley tells it how it is. A Rosetta Life Acorns Hospice collaboration.
On a First Wheelchair
A Blue One By Ivy Scherbarth October 7, 2011
My son, Rain, is four years old and is outgrowing his old baby stroller. Even though he is walking well for short distances, he will need some other conveyance for longer distances. After some consideration, we decided to approach the conveyance question the same way we might approach a pair of new shoes. After all, he needs a contraption to help him get from place to place. He’ll be using it a lot, probably every day. We figured he should be part of the decision of what to get. We laid out a couple of alternatives that we thought about equal in value, and asked for Rain’s opinion.
“Rain, you’re getting bigger and you’re about to outgrow your stroller. When you do, would you like to have a stroller that’s the next size up or would you like to have a wheelchair?”
Big, enormous smile. “I want a wheelchair! A blue one.”
“You know that it won’t be a power wheelchair like our friend Mark has. It’ll be a push wheelchair where you just sit there and a grownup will drive you. We won’t use it in the house. We’ll use it just the same way that [...] continue the story
A Moment in My Life
By Star Bobatoon
We are sitting in the parking lot of a small deli off Interstate 95. My 8-year old son has been crying in the back seat of the car for the last 20 miles. I assume his upset involves some interaction with his 3-year old sister but he shook his head when I asked if he wanted to talk about it. I warned that if he didn’t calm himself I would pull the car over and he would have to talk to me. Ten minutes later I pulled off the highway into this parking lot.
I am driving home to Virginia. My children have been in New York with my mother for the last few days while my husband and I attended a conference on Muscular Dystrophy. I have spent the last four days having this disease and the devastating effects it will likely have on my son shoved down my throat in 45-minute increments throughout the course of each day. I went willingly because it is information I needed to know but it was very hard to swallow.
Sitting in silence, I rub his back affectionately and he begins to cry again. When he calms I ask, “what was all [...] continue the story
Learning to Shine Despite My Disability
January 23,2009 Kathryn lives with muscular dystrophy and has become a counselor to help others deal with personal limits