Blargh

So far not much has been happening. 

I've sent out a few sponsorship proposal e-mails but most haven't replied, so it's just been me on my exercise bike. 
It has also been crazy hot lately, with the temperature going up to 38*C at midday. I've been determined yesterday and decided to go to the shops near my house. Bad idea, since I had that thought before the sun went down. Sure, from there, the distance was such that I could go: "Look! I can see my house from here!" =D but everybody who knows me, knows that I never leave my driveway without a car. That's what driveways are for. But I told myself - If I can't even walk 10 minutes each way how would I walk 5 to 7 hours? (Besides the obvious answer of I CAN'T..) In the end, the walk was pretty bad but I made it. It was terribly hot, and there was this echo in my head moaning "It burns.. It buuuuurns!" But there was this sense of accomplishment that I have made an effort to get out of the house without a chore or appointment as my goal. Sunburn or not. 


My darling Rav4! --->

Becker Muscular Dystrophy. This form is similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but the disease is much milder: symptoms appear later and progress more slowly. It usually appears between the ages of 2 and 16 but can appear as late as age 25. Like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy affects males and rarely females and causes heart problems. Disease severity varies. Sufferers can usually walk into their 30s and live further into adulthood.

First internet donation!

Hooray!! I just got my first donation online! =D

So far, I had gotten donations in cash from my family members, but this is the first time someone has done so on the sponsorship website. Thanks so much, Lee Sammels from PMH!  \(^o^)/
 Also, I got sponsored by Suntec City in Singapore, my first company sponsorship! Thank you very much for your kind donation, it is greatly appreciated.

Today I'll be writing about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of the 9 MD disorders. Dechenne (named after a French neurologist) is the most common MD that occurs in children so it's the first type that usually comes to mind when associated with sick kids. It's caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, which is located on the X chromosome. It generally only affects males, but only girls if the father is afflicted and the mother is also a carrier or afflicted. These kids show signs of symptoms between the ages of 2 to 6 years old, including a decrease in muscle size (yet may appear larger), strength and control. Progress and severity of symptoms vary between individuals over time, with the arms, legs and spine most physically deformed. Some are mildly intellectually impaired. Most sufferers require a wheelchair by the age of 12. Severe respiratory and cardiac problemsusually mark the later stages of Duchenne's. Average life expectancy of sufferers varies from late teens to early 20's , although there have been rare cases of a few surviving to their 40''s.

G'day everyone!!!~~

I guess I should start this blog off by shedding some light on MD, the disorder I’m raising these funds for. So what exactly is Muscular Dystrophy (MD)? How is it acquired and how would it affect the life of a child who has it? How long, or to what age, would they survive?... The answers to these questions are not optimistic.

Muscular Dystrophy is a collective group of neuromuscular diseases that causes progressive and selective degeneration and weakness of voluntary muscles. This means that all the muscles in the body moved directly by thought (limbs, eyelids, lips) weaken over time and waste away as the sufferer gets older. It is genetically inherited and can occur in both children and adults, so even if a person isn’t born with it, there is a chance that the mutations might activate later on in life. There are 9 main types of MD, with different genetic causes, symptoms and quality of life but similar devastating effects. 

I’ll update with the different types in the following few days. Thanks to my dear family and awesum friend Yee Pei for helping me while I panic about how to start this thing. For now, I’ve got to get an diary/accounting book to keep myself or-ji-nized for this project!