What exactly does Michael suffer from? That's where we need to start this discourse. Of course we know that he has the disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This disease is a debilitating illness that occurs in about 1 in 3,200 live male births. Michael just happened to be one of the unlucky ones. Usually a child is not diagnosed with DMD until he is between the ages of two and six. We were lucky to find out early that Michael was affected. The only reas

on that we knew so early on was that Muscular Dystrophy runs in your family. This early detection was a blessing as we have been able to provide Michael with the best treatment and environment to grow up in as possible. If a curte should ever be found, Michael will be in the right place to receive it. Also, he now receives adequate attention to help him with the psychological, physical, and social problems he may encounter in having this disease.

Susan, there is not much that can be done for Michael. There is no cure for DMD. We have only two options. One is to let Michael just go through the progressive stages of the disease. The second option is to try the new experimental treatment that Dr. Smith introduced to us. The first option would mean that Michael would progressively get weaker and eventually lose his life, around the age of twenty. I DON'T want him to die! I know you don't either. This new treatment called gene therapy is untested and we don't know if it would even work. But what else is there to do? I feel as though this is our best option right now. There is nothing else. We have to do what is in Michael's best interest. I feel that this is in his best interest.

Right now Michael is doing very well. He is just starting to have his share of problems. He is just beginning to waddle a bit and fall quite a lot. He also seems a bit awkward when walking around. And I hate to see when he is having difficulty rising from a standing or lying position. It breaks my heart. I wish it was me in his place. Why does Michael have to be the sick one? I would do ANYTHING to trade places with him. Michael has such a bright promising future ahead of him; one which he'll never get to see. It sad. I've already been there and don that. I don't have much to look forward to, especially when we lose Michael. Most children with DMD live only until they are in their late teen years or early twenties. I want the best for Michael. I will do whatever it takes, both emotionally and financially, to see that he gets the best. I want him to have both the best treatment and best opportunity to live his life to the fullest extent. I know this is what you want too.

Remember all the times that Michael would try to walk but couldn't? Aren't you glad that we knew to expect that? We knew that, like most children with DMD, Michael wouldn't be walking until about eighteen months old. It would have been awful to not know why our child, our first and only child, wasn't walking when most other kids his age were. That would have been devastating. Can you imagine not knowing what was wrong? There would have been so many questions going through our minds. Is he retarded? Is he stupid? What the hell is the matter with him? But having such a wonderful doctor made us so much more at ease

Some common words found in the essay are:
Muscular Dystrophy, Michael Michael, Eventually Michael's, DMD Michael, Dr Smith, Dearest Susan, Susan Michael, muscular dystrophy, gene replacement, gene therapy, duchenne muscular dystrophy, children muscular dystrophy, michael wouldn't, help people, children muscular, duchenne muscular, children dmd, michael affected, Duchenne Muscular, cure dmd,
Approximate Word count = 1901
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)