<p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="color: #ff0000;">EDWARD NEEDS YOUR HELP.&nbsp; </span></p> <p>Edward Ackroyd is eight years old&nbsp; and has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is a severe muscle wasting disease, which leads to paralysis and limited life expectancy. Nearly all of those affected are boys, who are likely to be using wheelchairs by the age of ten through the progressive loss of muscle function, and needing full time care by their late teens. <br><br> <span style="color: #ff0000;">Surviving beyond their teenage years is rare. </span>Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy affects 1 in every 3,500 boys just like Edward, and occasionally little girls also. With 40,000 sufferers worldwide, awareness of DMD is very low, which made the diagnosis particularly shocking for Edward's parents, Heidy and Paul, and is a devastating reality for all Duchenne boys.<br><br> In order to help Edward and others like him, we have recorded a song called 'Never Say Goodbye' written by Shane Hamill and Paul Lovatt Cooper, and sung by Shane.<br><br> From Edward, his brothers Samuel &amp; Thomas, his devoted parents Heidy &amp; Paul, and all of Edward's friends, thank you.<br><br></p> <p><em><strong>Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.</strong></em></p> <p><strong><em><br></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://justgiving.com/tonyackroyd">http://tempuri.org/tempuri.html</a><br></em></strong></p> <p><br>Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It's also the most efficient way to sponsor me: ACTION DUCHENNE gets your money faster and, if you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.<br><br>So please sponsor me now!</p>