Wheelchair van & house for Woronka boys
Donation protected
In 2019, Riley, Cooper and Logan were diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a progressive muscle wasting condition to which there is no cure and is 100% fatal and will require the boys to use a wheelchair Likely before their 12th birthday.
It started when the boys were about 3. I took them to the GP after some concerns were raised from the childcare about the boys being slower than the other kids. The GP referred the boys to a specialist to look at their hips however the specialist had a quick look and said they were fine. A few years later the boys started school and the sport teacher had some concerns about the boys running and jumping. They could physically run and jump but again it wasn’t quite what the other kids were doing. By this point (age 6) their calves were also enlarged. I took them back to the GP, She looked at their calves and said they just genetically have big calves and not to worry. All of this just wasn’t sitting right with me. So I took them to an Osteopath to take a look and I’m just really lucky that she knew what she was doing because she referred them straight away to neurology at the Children’s hospital. The boys were then assessed and bloods were taken and it was confirmed that they have DMD. We then had to test Logan and go through it all over again and it was also confirmed that he had it as well.
The boys have officially received their first mobility scooters so we need to start thinking about an accessible van and a house they can call their own so we can customise and adapt to their ever changing needs as they encounter them. We have many difficult days ahead of us so the boys need stability of a house that we are never going to be asked to leave.
It started when the boys were about 3. I took them to the GP after some concerns were raised from the childcare about the boys being slower than the other kids. The GP referred the boys to a specialist to look at their hips however the specialist had a quick look and said they were fine. A few years later the boys started school and the sport teacher had some concerns about the boys running and jumping. They could physically run and jump but again it wasn’t quite what the other kids were doing. By this point (age 6) their calves were also enlarged. I took them back to the GP, She looked at their calves and said they just genetically have big calves and not to worry. All of this just wasn’t sitting right with me. So I took them to an Osteopath to take a look and I’m just really lucky that she knew what she was doing because she referred them straight away to neurology at the Children’s hospital. The boys were then assessed and bloods were taken and it was confirmed that they have DMD. We then had to test Logan and go through it all over again and it was also confirmed that he had it as well.
The boys have officially received their first mobility scooters so we need to start thinking about an accessible van and a house they can call their own so we can customise and adapt to their ever changing needs as they encounter them. We have many difficult days ahead of us so the boys need stability of a house that we are never going to be asked to leave.
Organizer
Bekk Woronka
Organizer
Cocoroc, VIC