As most of you already know, our son Joseph suffers from a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a muscle wasting condition, mainly affecting boys, and is caused by the lack of a protein called dystrophin. It is a serious condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and most boys become wheelchair dependent by the age of 11. Young men with DMD typically live into their late 20's, however because of vital research some are now living into their 30's and 40's. Although there are treatments that can help slow its progression, there is currently no cure.

Our 2020 challenge is to dive with sharks. We will be learning the skills of scuba diving at The Blue Planet Aquarium Cheshire Oaks – with SHARKS for company! Blue Planet Aquarium has Europe’s largest collection of sharks and we will be going face-to-fin with the collection of 10-feet Sand Tiger Sharks! No cage! 

This is indeed a big challenge for both of us! (Gareth is terrified of sharks and Katherine is scared of not being able to breathe!)  Knowing that we are raising funds to help our beautiful boy and others affected by DMD gives us the motivation to push ourselves. 

So once again we are asking for your support. We are respectful that everyone has their own charities that are personal to them. So we are not asking you to donate a lot. If everyone of our friends gave £1, that would help us to reach our target of £1000.

Words cannot express our gratitude to those who support our cause.

MDUK play a vital role in funding research into DMD to find treatments and hopefully a cure and this would not be possible without your kind donations. Words cannot express our gratitude to all those who choose to support us and donate to our cause.

Gareth and Katherine