You've got to laugh

Available in EBOOK and PAPERBACK versions

My mum has a saying, "You've got to laugh or you'll end up crying". How true that is these days! There's a lot with DMD that can certainly make you upset and sometimes you can't avoid that. Although when happy moments come they are often remembered and thoroughly enjoyed.

We still laugh at the time that I was flung off a horse (I landed in soft snow), the horse ran off and my dad was running after it!

Extract;
...I was out riding; my father and cousin .... were walking beside me. After a gentle ride past some snow banks the horse suddenly got startled and threw me off! I landed in some soft snow in a daze. My cousin was standing there laughing as my father chased after the bolting horse, I can remember his hat falling off and flapping behind him in a comical manner....

There's always something good to smile about in life, finding those moments is the hard part!

Read through my happy memories 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.

Waistcoat dilemmas..

I have never seen my mother laugh so much when I was mentioning the idea of trying to get into a waistcoat for an upcoming family wedding. I was saying how it wouldn't be great to end up in A & E, clutching a broken arm on the day of said wedding! I knew that my arms would have tremendous trouble being bent back trying to fit into the waistcoat and I joked that I may break an arm!

Who said contractures don't make you laugh!

Extract;
...DMD can cause “Contractures”. Where ankle, knee, hip and arm joints have shorter muscles connected to them causing bent and deformed limbs; because of the associated Duchenne’s muscle cell death. That makes it impossible to completely straighten your arms or legs without causing huge damage and pain...

Thankfully I don't have to wear a waistcoat, so I will not need to grace the A & E department with a visit! (God willing).

Read about the lighter side of life with Duchenne's in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!

You can buy your paperback copy of my book on Amazon 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

Also available as an E-book here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

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.

One thing leads to another

FREE EBOOK offer closing soon, in just 4 days!!!! Download for FREE while you can!!

It's strange how thinking about one thing can lead somewhere totally different. I was thinking whether I would be father one day but quite bizarrely I started searching through software on a popular shopping site. That led me to find an art program and from then on I became an artist!

Extract;
...As my father was sitting nearby I quickly showed him the new art creating
software and we bought it there and then....

After six years I'm still learning new styles and techniques. I currently have 97 pieces of art and have sold a few pieces too!

You can see some of my favourite works of art in both the paperback and ebook versions of my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!

Please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/

Don't forget my FREE e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is FREE, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Only 4 days left!!!!!

You can visit my art gallery here; http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=66134&IRV=36


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.

Sometimes quick, sometimes gradually

The muscle deterioration in DMD can oftentimes be slow but sometimes it's amazingly quick. Although I absolutely despised stretches (on my legs), they really are necessary to keep discomfort and pain at bay in the younger years.

During my vacation of a lifetime over in Florida, I did not do any of my stretches and consequently paid the price later on when I returned home. You really get to see how quickly DMD can deteriorate when you don't do what you need to do. Many people in the know will tell you that you should never stop stretches as a treat.

I noticed that only after two weeks it was excruciating to go in my standing frame.
Extract;
...The pain was immense after the holiday because we didn’t really do my stretches often enough (it was a vacation after all). It was absolute torture standing again in my ‘clickers’. My knees were burning; it felt like my ankles were braking. I would plead with my mother to get out of the frame but I had no choice as it was part of my physio regime...

Well I really wish I took the advice that is being given now! However currently (age 27), I don't have physio any more, partly because it would hurt and partly because I have no physiotherapist. Post 18 care leaves much to be desired in Wales!

Don't forget my free e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is free, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

If you still prefer the look and feel of a real book then please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/


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.