Gord Wallen
Forum Replies Created
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At 17 I was told by my GP that I was lazy and needed to jog for exercise. At 25 I was diagnosed with Becker MD.
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I use a portable urinal. I have a couple at home one is in the bathroom and one beside my bed. I also keep one in the van in a cloth wine bag which I hook on the handle of my powerchair. No one has any idea what’s in the bag.
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I guess this is great for explaining to children. But the stark difference of DMD than other MDs like BMD and LGMD is that boys will die early in there 20s or 30s. I’m on a number of Facebook pages. I have Becker MD. Many parents whose child is recently diagnosed with BMD often go to DMD sites and confuse this major difference between BMD and DMD. While BMD can strike at an early age too it is most often diagnosed at a later age and will live to their senior years.
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A few years ago we had the bathroom renovated to be wheelchair accessible. We have a roll in shower and a shower bench. Through experimentation I have refined the process and at this point seems to work well. Although I know that I will need help in the future.
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I’ve had a service dog for over 15 years (two). My current dog is a black lab (Visa) trained by Dog Guides Canada and provided free of charge. I received my first service dog (Halle a golden retriever) when I was still walking. It was very helpful at picking up dropped items and barking for help if I fell. As I transitioned to a wheelchair she was still helpful at opening doors. The hidden benefit of a service dog is that they get you out into the community and open up conversation. Instead of the guy in the wheelchair, I’m the guy with a service dog!
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I was not diagnosed with Becker MD until I was in my 20s. However, looking back I had many of the symptoms. I was not athletic, did not run well. This caused me to be bullied and teased a great deal in elementary and high school. Gym or PE was the worst! It caused me to be withdrawn and shy. I was very careful around my peers for fear that they would tease me further if I said or did the wrong thing. I would do just about anything not singled out. I didn’t have a lot of friends and I kept to myself for the most part. That all changed when I attended University when adolescent peer pressure subsided.