the affliction

The Affliction

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is brought on by a mutated dystrophin gene, which causes muscles to progressively degenerate.

Symptoms of DMD can appear as early as age three and only affects males. The ability to walk is generally lost between ages seven and eleven. By the teen years DMD has invaded heart and respiratory muscles. Teenagers can expect limited mobility, a need for mechanical support and eventually ventilation to provide adequate airflow.

DMD is a killer that typically achieves success by age twenty. The boys who suffer from it are dwarfed by its enormity.