Blog #1- Week 2

After doing quite a bit of research regarding Muscular Dystrophy for this research blog, I came across a story that overlapped some of my interests along with MD.  I grew up with a heavy influence of camping, hiking, and general outdoor experiences.  It is something I am very thankful for and plan to introduce my children to as well.  Disabilities like MD can happen to anyone, and it is important to live life to the fullest no matter what the consequences.

For obvious reasons, MD can be make outdoor experiences more difficult than a healthy person.  For one, you cannot make nature handicap accessible and many areas may require a certain amount of athletic ability to access.  I found a story on the Marquez family, who have an 8 year old son that suffers from Duchenne MD.  After their son was diagnosed, the family decided they wanted to live life to the fullest despite their hardship.  The first thing they decided to do was hike the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.  They did this by carrying their 55 pound son in a backpack and taking turns.  This was necessary due to the degenerative muscles the son was experiencing.

I thought this was a great story of people being optimistic despite having a person in the family suffering from MD.  I think that this story can also help to inspire people to create experiences for children that have disabilities, like MD.  Stories like this make people realize they can still do things they thought may have been impossible due to unfortunate circumstances.