The reason I created this fundraising page is because lot of family members and friends have asked me how they can help me and it is easier to update all in one go with latest activities we are doing! And if you wish to help us financially we will be very grateful! As I have already told everyone at the moment we don't need any additional money as Simon is still feeling fine, but we don't know what future brings..

I have written a summary of current status and will try to keep everyone updated as often as possible.:)

Simon was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in December 2017 when he was at the age of 7. We discovered this diagnosis accidentally when doctors done full blood test instead of simple one when we got into hospital regarding his toothache. After going through a lot of additional blood tests, gene testing showed that Simon has missing dystrophin (42 & 43) which relates to DMD. It was a great shock for me as a mom to get the news like this... BUT... We won't give up, we believe that cure for it will be found! Our task is just to stay strong as long as possible and enjoy a life while we can!:)

So.. Our plan at the moment is to do as many activities as we can while Simon is still able to walk (we never know how soon it can happen, on average boys by age of 12 are in the wheelchair). I have created 'Simon's To Do list' showing activities we have already signed up for and what we have in mind to do in the future! If you have any other interesting activity in mind, please share it with us :) Haha I haven't added Bunjee Jump just because there is an age restriction of 14 I think, but you know, we can probably do that even if we have to use a wheelchair! :D So that will be on the other 'To Do' list :) We are already signed up for Indoor Skydiving on 16th February and Obstacle Run in Windsor on 24th March.

From medical perspective there is not much what we can do at the moment as there is no cure. At this stage Simon needs to have a physio therapy which we are dealing with at the moment to get it done. Simon needs to have active lifestyle, but not too much as well as it can destroy his muscles even quicker and damage his kidneys. And we don't want that! We are going for swimming once a week and Simon absolutely loves it!:) I have applied for Funded Swimming classes for Simon, but site in Reading is closed at the moment due to some issues with building but as soon as it is back up and running, we will start to do classes there. And they are fully funded for children with disabilities (I know sounds weird to say that Simon has a disability as he is physically fine.. well almost.. at the moment..) Simon is also attending Scouts where he is having fun with other 'Beavers'.. And we do Explore Learning (we call it 'Fun Learning') to help him with his maths and english and he is doing great :)

Doctor's advised that we do not need to change any eating habits and don't need to take any vitamins except Vitamin D. However as doctor said that few parents try to use natural ingredients etc., but it has not proven that it improves this condition, but it is up to us if we decide to use them or not. And yes we do! My mom has been reading so much regarding natural ingredients and it has been proven in our family that they actually help! So my mom brought us 'Salveo' natural ingredients powder (invented by Latvian Healer Ilze Jason who advised that there is no disease you can't treat) and we are eating it daily. We even came up with a special name for it - Popeye Food :D (well, Popeye had spinach, we have this :D) Awaiting order from oder natural ingredients company which have showed amazing results, when we start to use them I can share more regarding that.

We have a follow up appointment in April and then we will discuss with the doctor if we should start to use stereoids to slow down condition. We done checks for a heart, haven't had results back yet.. Chased doctors.. If heart is already affected, we will have to start to use medication for that! It is scary as the main reason for death is exactly heart failure.. But let's stay positive- everything will be fine :)

We have been added on the database for trials as well, so if anything suitable becomes available, nurse will call us to enrol for the trial!

So that is update so far, I will keep posting updates as we go!:)

I just want to say thank you to everyone who have supported as emotionally and financially! I am really surprised how generous people can be, even strangers!:)

Thank you!