DMD teaches you one thing in particular and that's thinking of others. When I see my mother busily going about her daily routine, washing, cleaning, preparing food which she puts hours into and generally working very hard I try not to ask for lots of things. Once I'm set up on my computer I'm pretty much set. You need to think of others and I certainly could do a lot better on that front myself but it's a good life lesson.
Extract;
...My mother is a mum first and a fantastic carer second and we are really close. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for all she has done and continues to do...
When you are so dependent on others you need a good working relationship and observing others needs is vital. An example would be to ask for help or a drink etcetera before your caregiver/parent sits down to rest or eat. It's not easy and sometimes if you desperately need something then you have to ask, but there's always a right way to ask. Read more about those working relationships in my book DMD Life art & me!
EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702
Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1
Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1
Foreword
I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time.
