On October 22nd 2012, at just under 15 months old, Markie May was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). By age 12, he could be confined to a wheelchair. He will eventually lose functionality of his arms and hands as well. As the disease progresses, it will ultimately impact his heart and lungs. Because of this, he has been given a life expectancy of around 25 years old.
Markie will be 8 years old this year and is part of the extended Exondys 51drug trail. If successful, the drug will allow Markie’s muscles to produce essential proteins again, although at a lower than normal rate. This would delay the severity of the symptoms that Markie sees from DMD and could allow him to walk on his own longer and extend his life. Markie has a port surgically implanted to help make his infusions easier. Markie continues to experience delayed speech development and he gets speech therapy to help in that area as well as continuing his PT and OT.
Despite his challenges, Markie is an exceptionally happy boy and remind us all to smile!
