Bubbly Abbi Bennett loves singing and playing with her three sisters just like any other seven-year-old.
But the schoolgirl from Bournville is in fact a one-in-a-million child.
She is so fragile that she could be blown over by just a GUST OF WIND.
Abbi, a pupil at Bournville Infant School, suffers from Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy – a rare muscle-wasting disease which means she can’t run or jump or climb the stairs, and must spend time in a wheelchair.
The chatty schoolgirl, who loves joking with her sisters Ashleigh, 15, Amber, nine, and Ava, four, will become more dependent on her wheelchair as she gets older and the muscles in her lungs struggle to cope.
“Abbi loves singing and is very chatty and confident,” says mum Sarah Bennett. “But she gets very frustrated, and hates being in her wheelchair, especially as she gets older.”
Abbi was first diagnosed when she was two years old by specialist Helen Roper at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Parents Gary and Sarah noticed she was struggling to hold her own body weight, and had extremely flexible joints.
“She was never able to crawl,” says Sarah, 34. “When she did eventually start walking at 18 months old, it was more like a waddle, and then she’d fall over.
“When we first found out what was wrong, it was incredibly isolating.
“We didn’t know anything about it, and neither did anyone else we knew.”
Abbi’s UCMD was caused by a random mutation, rather than a genetic inheritance, which means that other family members are not carriers.
The disease can affect people in different ways, and while some people are able to walk, others suffer severe mobility problems and difficulty in breathing.
But despite the debilitating disease Sarah and Gary say that Abbi is a fighter, and has an amazing positive attitude that keeps her striving forward.
“Abbi loves life, and is incredibly caring,” says Sarah. “She hides any negativity.
“But the other day she told me the most touching thing as I put her to bed.
“She said ‘I’ve wished 100 times for my muscular dystrophy to go away, but it’s just not coming true.”
“It was heartbreaking.”
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But the schoolgirl from Bournville is in fact a one-in-a-million child.
She is so fragile that she could be blown over by just a GUST OF WIND.
Abbi, a pupil at Bournville Infant School, suffers from Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy – a rare muscle-wasting disease which means she can’t run or jump or climb the stairs, and must spend time in a wheelchair.
The chatty schoolgirl, who loves joking with her sisters Ashleigh, 15, Amber, nine, and Ava, four, will become more dependent on her wheelchair as she gets older and the muscles in her lungs struggle to cope.
“Abbi loves singing and is very chatty and confident,” says mum Sarah Bennett. “But she gets very frustrated, and hates being in her wheelchair, especially as she gets older.”
Abbi was first diagnosed when she was two years old by specialist Helen Roper at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Parents Gary and Sarah noticed she was struggling to hold her own body weight, and had extremely flexible joints.
“She was never able to crawl,” says Sarah, 34. “When she did eventually start walking at 18 months old, it was more like a waddle, and then she’d fall over.
“When we first found out what was wrong, it was incredibly isolating.
“We didn’t know anything about it, and neither did anyone else we knew.”
Abbi’s UCMD was caused by a random mutation, rather than a genetic inheritance, which means that other family members are not carriers.
The disease can affect people in different ways, and while some people are able to walk, others suffer severe mobility problems and difficulty in breathing.
But despite the debilitating disease Sarah and Gary say that Abbi is a fighter, and has an amazing positive attitude that keeps her striving forward.
“Abbi loves life, and is incredibly caring,” says Sarah. “She hides any negativity.
“But the other day she told me the most touching thing as I put her to bed.
“She said ‘I’ve wished 100 times for my muscular dystrophy to go away, but it’s just not coming true.”
“It was heartbreaking.”
news from http://www.birminghammail.co.uk
scrap vendor
WhatsApp Marketing
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