Boy's service dog poses for photo in school yearbook

[JerseyGirl]

When it came time for school photos, Good Hope Middle School in Louisiana, decided to ask 7th-grader Seph Ware if he wanted to have his service dog photographed for the school's yearbook. For the past four years, Seph, who has a rare muscle disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has taken his service dog, Presley, everywhere with him, even to class.

http://www.thv11.com/news/nation-now/boys-service-dog-poses-for-photo-in-school-yearbook/178530364

 

[ladygator]

That's great!:clap:

 

[MelmothTheLost]

For the past four years, Seph, who has a rare muscle disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has taken his service dog, Presley, everywhere with him, even to class.

That was very kind of them. That poor kid isn't going to make it past his mid-20s at best unless there is a massive breakthrough in understanding and treating the disease in the very near future.

The older brother of one of the boys I was at primary school with had this disease. He was in a pitiful state by his late teens and died a couple of years later.

 

[tlcya]

Inclusion. Love. Presley has been for all intents and purposes a member of the class. Good for them for including him.

 

[texasgirl2]

Oh, I LOVE this story!! Two things super close to my heart...dogs & special needs kiddos. :heartbeat:

Seriously, how cute are they??

 

[MelmothTheLost]

In one of those strange coincidences, the Daily Mail today carries a story about a new drug treatment for DMD which has been approved for use by the NHS* in England**. The cost is £220,000 ($317,000) per patient.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...ect-boys-muscle-wasting-disease-Duchenne.html

It also appears that overall life expectancy for those with the condition has improved to almost 30 years. In the case I knew of the young man died in the early 1980s, presumably when there was no effective treatment at all for the condition.

* The government's watchdog for the NHS has given the go-ahead for the NHS to prescribe the drug in principle in England. However, each individual NHS Trust will have to decide whether to do so in its area and this will depend on (a) budgets and (b) the suitability of the individual patient for the treatment. Some trusts may decide they can't afford to provide it (cue law suits) or the individual's case is too far advanced for him to benefit meaningfully from it (cue other law suits).

** Health matters in Scotland and Wales have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly so the approval does not cover its use in those areas. Whether it will be separately approved is up to the SP and WA.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I just read the story on a local TV station website: http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/a-boy-and-his-service-dog-yearbook-besties