The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Muscular Dystrophy Fundraiser in Plymouth
A local fundraising group supports neighbours with disabled sons.
From the collection of:
Overview
TV Reporter Brent Sadler visits a team of fundraisers in Leigham in Plymouth who have raised money for the Hudson family to add a ground floor extension to their property. The new bedroom will be purpose-built to accommodate a bespoke bedroom. The couple have three boys, two of whom have muscular dystrophy. The eldest son, Paul needs to be carried upstairs to bed and John the youngest son aged four has also been recently diagnosed with the same debilitating condition.
Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is an inherited disorder that causes a weakening of the musculoskeletal system or a general wasting of the muscle tone in the body. The loss of muscle strength may be slowed by steroid drugs but to-date there is no known cure. Life span varies and is dependent of the speed of muscle weakness and wasting. Most sufferers become wheelchair dependent. There are many forms of the condition which may in rare cases be life threatening. In the UK around 70,000 people have been diagnosed with MD. Duchenne MD is named after the French neurologist who first discovered the disorder in the 1860s and is the most common form.