muscular dystrophy has many forms and therefore symptoms can vary between the variations. Overall symptoms include the weakening of skeletal muscles and the defect and death muscle tissues. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common and affects young boys such as Eddie. Eddie is an 11 year old boy and has been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The symptoms appeared at the age of 5 and had led to the weakening of his leg and arm muscles and the eventual need of a wheelchair. Some of these symptoms include: • Frequent falls • Awkward manner of walking • Fatigue and low endurance • Loss of motor skills (jumping, running) • Eventual loss of ability to walk While Eddie is able to move around with the aid of a wheelchair, his muscles have shrunken and have been replaced with fat. Additionally, he has an intellectual impairment as a result of DMD. However, the intellectual impairment will not worsen over time. Duchenne muscular dystrophy can also affect the hips, thighs shoulder muscles and calves. The calves will usually be enlarged and the symptoms of DMD will progressively worsen. By the age of 10 to 12, the person affected will require the use of a wheelchair. At the age of 21, most patients will be paralyzed from the neck down. Duchenne muscular dystrophy will appear in those affected before the age of 6, and the lifespan of patients affected with DMD is usually around 25. Becker muscular dystrophy is similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy and also has similar symptoms, but is much less severe. This is because the gene affected, dystrophin, is still partially functional. Therefore, the symptoms appear much later into one’s life and usually, the person affected is able to live for... ... middle of paper ... ...rrifying when I found out that he had MD. He was unable to walk properly and his muscles deteriorated to a large extent. His whole life was changed and I remember me and him crying for long periods. Eddie: I wasn’t able to participate in many activities and I now need a wheelchair. Most of time I spend playing video games because it helps relieve my mind. Question: Since you have MD, did anyone in your family also have the disease? Eddie: I think my dad had it… Eddie’s Mom: Yes… that’s true but he had passed away at an early age due the disease. I don’t know what I would do if I also lost Eddie! Question: Have you tried to find treatments for Eddie? Eddie’s Mom: Yes! I’ve searched almost everywhere on the internet, yet most drugs and medicines are expensive. I have however sent him through physical therapy. Thank you to Eddie and his mom for a great contribution!
In the same scheme, both in the movie and the book, the father is presented as abusive and alcoholic on many occasions. In words, the book gives a detailed account of the damages inflicted on Eddie by his father’s violence: “he went through his younger years whacked, lashed, and beaten.” (Albom 105) In the film, t...
This is a crucial part because he finally committed to not letting alcohol control his life, something that has controlled him since his brother was killed. This was a huge step in Eddie’s character development.
As motor neurons degenerate, this obviously means they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that otherwise normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look thinner as muscle tissue atrophies (Choi, 1988).
As said before DMD weakens the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. These muscles aid in respiration, therefore he has a difficult time expanding his lungs making him prone to infections. Also, since he cannot control his respiratory muscles it may cause him to swallow food and aspirate it into his lungs creating obstructions in his respiratory tract. There may be a lot of different pulmonary infections James is going to be prone to because of this.
Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder in which your muscles drastically weaken over time. Muscles are replaced with “connective tissue,” which is more of a fatty tissue than a muscular one. The connective tissue is the tissue that is commonly found in scars, and that same tissue is incapable of movement. Although Muscular Dystrophy affects muscles in general, other types affect certain groups of muscles, and happen at different periods throughout a lifetime. For example one of the most common types, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, targets muscles in the upper thigh and pelvis. The disease is displayed throughout early childhood, usually between ages four and seven. This genetic disorder occurs only in boys. People have difficulty sitting up or standing and lose their ability to walk in their early teens. Sadly most people die by the age of twenty. A second common type, Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy affects the same muscles as Duchenne, but first appears in teenage years. Most people with Becker’s only live into their forties (Fallon 1824-1825).
Eddie and his father relationship was very different than most father-son’s relationships. Eddie felt his father was drunk, belligerent, abusive, and most of all unloving. Eddie felt that his father never loved him, even when he was a small boy. This is one trait that all children strive for: the love of their parents. All Eddie wanted in his life was his father’s approval and acceptance.
Eddie was born on 29th of June 1936, he experienced a rough childhood as his mother passed 4 days sub
It is estimated that 1 out of every 5,600-7,700 boys ages 5-24 have Duchene or Becker muscular dystrophy. (“Data & Statistics,” 2012 April 6) Muscular dystrophy is a group of genetic diseases defined by muscle fibers that are unusually susceptible to damage. There are several different types of muscular dystrophy some of which shorten the affected person’s lifespan. (“Muscular dystrophy: Types and Causes of each form,” n.d.) There is a long history of the disorder but until recently there wasn’t much knowledge of the cause. (“Muscular Dystrophy: Hope through Research,” 16 April 2014) Symptoms are obvious and can be seen as soon as a child starts walking. (“Muscular Dystrophy,” 2012 January 19) Although muscular dystrophy mostly affects boys, girls can get it too. (“Muscular Dystrophy,” 2012 January 19) There is no cure for muscular dystrophy but there are several types of therapy and most types of muscular dystrophy are still fatal. (“Muscular Dystrophy: Hope through Research,” 16 April 2014)
Eddie then tries to grasp his father's attention, however he is unable to. The tale flashes back to Eddie’s 24th birthday within the hospital. Joe, Marguerite, Mickey Shea, Eddies father and mother all come to visit him. They all celebrate Eddies birthday by singing to him, except for his father. Meanwhile, Eddies father is not even close with the rest and is not paying attention to him at all.
After finishing high school Eddie was 18 or 19 years old. He moved to Hollywood California. When he moved there he meet a girl with a tattoo. The Eddie got a tattoo too. Eddie and the girl got an apartment together. Eddie found himself a new job as a Bouncer which is a security guard. Eddie's girlfriend taught him a couple chords on the guitar. Eddie played the guitar from heart. Eddie then got an agent. He also got himself a roadie named Bart. Eddie thought he was all that because he was hanging out with movie stars. Eddie bought himself a leather jacket that has jingles off of it. Then Eddie heard some bad news from the A&R man. The A&R man told Eddie that he didn't hear another single.
Symptoms can appear at any age normally between infancy and age six. Normally, the first symptom of duchenne muscular dystrophy is a delay in milestones that normal children have. For example, there may be a delay in when a child with DMD learns to walk, sit or stand by themselves. Children without duchenne muscular dystrophy normally begin to learn to walk at around nine to twelve months, and can walk well around fourteen to fifteen months. Parents and doctors become concerned after sixteen to seventeen months. However, the average age that a child with duchenne muscular dystrophy begins to walk is eighteen months. In muscles in the legs and pelvis, there is progressive weakening and wasting. There is also a little weakness found in the neck, arms, and other upper body muscles, but the weakening in worse in the lower half of the body. Muscles weaken by enlarged muscle tissue being replaced by connective tissue and fat. Muscle fibers then shorten due to the r...
d. Marguerite - Although Eddie was a miserable man throughout the course of his existence, his love, Marguerite was the one thing that made him happy. After she died, Eddie felt empty and lost without her. When he meets Marguerite in heaven she explains to him that, even after death, she had always loved Eddie. Eddie learns that although life may end love is forever.
His kind nature is shown when he acts as a father figure towards Catherine; "Well, tell me what happened. Come over here, talk to me. " This shows he has an interest in her problems, he uses a very comforting manner. Eddie is a family man and agrees straight away to help illegal immigrants.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, was named after neurologist Guillaume Duchenne. During the late nineteenth century, Duchenne carried out experiments that included taking a biopsy of the living tissues from boys with DMD. Because of these experiments, Duchenne was the first to conclude that the disease was based in the muscles. Muscular dystrophy is a type of genetic disease that causes the progression of muscle atrophy and weakness. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is characterized as the rapid developing form of muscular dystrophy, and predominantly occurs in young males generally between the ages of three and five. Out of roughly three and half thousand births around the world, one baby will have this disease.
Upon hearing this Eddie feels awful and asks why the blue man died instead of