Please ignore the ending It cut off before I could finish.
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About Me
- mitch'sworld
- Citrus Heights, California, United States
- Hi my name is Mitch Ball, welcome to my world! I'm a typical 24-year-old guy with an atypical body. No it's not covered in colorful tattoo's or piercings in bizarre places. The reason it's atypical is I was born with a disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy(DMD). It's a genetic disease I was born with and there is no cure. In a nutshell DMD causes all the muscles in the body to waste away and weaken over time. The life expectancy for someone with DMD is greatly reduced and you rarely live much past 30. This is usually due to heart failure. I was diagnosed at the age of four, started using a manual wheelchair at 8, graduated to a power wheelchair at age 10, now at 24 I am on a ventilator full time since my muscles that control my breathing are very weak. I can barely move any of my body... I have just enough strength in my hands to drive my wheelchair and use a computer mouse. In spite of all the challenges I face day to day I live each day to the fullest and look forward to the future. It isn't always easy but having a positive outlook is something I strive for everyday. Thanks for reading my blog I hope it opens your eyes to what living life or disability is like.
Hi Mitch,
ReplyDeleteYou have a great speaking voice (ever consider radio broadcasting?) and it is good that you are doing the video blog -- I have two little grandsons with DMD (ages 3 and 6) who were diagnosed a year ago -- we are new to DMD. I have a brother that sends me anything he finds on the Internet about DMD and he sent the newspaper article about you -- I'm glad he did because I have just listened to an extremely brave, likeable and upbeat young man. You are helping to make people aware of DMD and that is needed very much. Thank you so much.