Donovan Carlson, Age 16 Woodbury, MN Home and Family Donovan lives with his mom Jenny, brother, Levi and service dog Buffy. Diagnosis Donovan was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at age 5. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. DMD is caused by an absence of dystrophin, . . .
Lauren Becvar, Age 17 Cary, NC Home and Family Lauren lives with her parents and 15 year old brother. Diagnosis Lauren is living with Myasthenia gravis (MG), which is an autoimmune disease — a disease that occurs when the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. In MG, that attack interrupts the connection between nerve . . .
Addison Schwab, Age 6 Lisbon, ND Home and Family Addison is the son of Cliff and Damien Howey. He has 1 brother, Ethan who is 13 and 1 sister, Emma who is 17. He also has a dog and 2 cats. Diagnosis Addison was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in March of 2010. DMD is . . .
Dillon & Tyler Peters, Ages 11 & 9 Oklahoma Home and Family Dillon and Tyler live with their Mom, Melissa and stepdad Jason. Diagnosis Dillon and Tyler have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. DMD is caused by an absence of dystrophin, a protein that helps . . .
Christal Cook, Age 16 Las Vegas, NV Home and Family Christal has three sisters and two brothers. Diagnosis Christal has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. This disease primarily affects boys, but in rare cases it can affect girls. Christal was diagnosed at the age of 12 . . .
David Shortlidge, Age 6 Derry, NH Home and Family David lives with his parents and 4 year old sister. He has two pets at home; a cat named Bodie and a fish named Nemo. Diagnosis David was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he was 3 years old. DMD is a genetic disorder characterized by . . .
Liam Rust, Age 12 Sparta, NJ Home and Family Liam lives with his sister Emma, and parents Laura and Bill Rust along with his cats and dogs. Diagnosis Liam is diagnosed with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It is a genetic disease affecting the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. The age . . .
Joseph “Joe or Slim” D. Megill, Age 15 Rio Rancho, NM Home and Family Joseph lives at home with his mom, dad, two sisters and four brothers. He also has two dogs and two cats Diagnosis Joseph was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) at the age of 10. CMT causes muscle weakness and atrophy, and some . . .
Adelina Rosso, Age 8 Manhattan, NY Home and Family Adelina lives with her father John, mom Lucinda and her older brother John Robert. Diagnosis Adelina was diagnosed at the age of 3 with Central Core disease. The disease is named for damaged areas within muscle cells (the “cores”), where the filament proteins are disorganized and . . .
Samantha Grace Hyde, Age 7 Glenville, NY Home and Family Samantha lives with her 10 year old sister Ashley, parents Lora and Chris, and pet bunny “Princess” Diagnosis At age 2, Samantha was diagnosed with Dejerinne-Sotta Disease. Dejerene-Sottas (DS) is a subtype of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). DS is a severe neuropathy (disease or abnormality of . . .
