Mother seeks help to save her 6-year-old child suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- A six-year-old boy named Hossam Mahmoud is suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
- His mother is appealing to the people of the UAE for financial help to fund his treatment.
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare genetic disease causing progressive muscle weakness.
A mother's desperate plea echoes from Egypt as she seeks urgent help to save her six-year-old son, Hossam Mahmoud, who is battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The rare genetic disease is progressively weakening his body, causing him to walk on his tiptoes in a bid to counteract the muscle loss. His mother watches with a "heart wrung with pain," as her son's childhood is threatened by the relentless advance of the illness. She describes seeing him "wither before my eyes every day," as the disease deprives him of basic childhood rights and jeopardizes his future. The family lives in "constant anxiety and fear," needing immediate treatment before his condition deteriorates further. Duchenne muscular dystrophy can lead to weakness in the hands and feet, and as it progresses, it can affect respiratory and heart muscles, posing a life-threatening risk. The mother is appealing to the "benevolent and charitable people in the UAE" to extend a helping hand, emphasizing that each day without treatment means losing more of his mobility and his chance at life. "I don't want to lose my son," she pleads, wishing to see him "run, play, and live his childhood like other children."
My heart breaks every day as I watch my son wither before my eyes, and I have nothing but prayer and hope. I see him dying before my eyes every day as the disease ravages his small body and deprives him of the simplest rights of childhood. He no longer walks normally, and now walks on his tiptoes in an attempt to resist the disease which is progressing rapidly and threatening his future and his life.
Originally published by Gulf Today. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.