Stay Strong Racerback

Stay Strong Racerback

On October 23, 2009, my wife and I welcomed our son, Kaden, into this world.  He is our first born child, the future was wide open and the possibilities were endless.  Only a few short months later, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy known as Merosin Deficient CMD.  Kaden is just one of 340 registered patients that have this rare form of CMD and estimated to be less than 2,200 cases worldwide.

It was a lot to soak in at first and as a father and there were several hard lessons to be learned about this disease. Firstly my son, who had already played his first pee wee and little league games in my head,  will be confined to a wheel-chair for mobility. He will never walk, and it crushed my heart like a ton of bricks. He also lacks the strength to throw an object, halting those ideas of late afternoon sessions learning to throw his first curveball or a spiral on a football in the backyard.  These things forced me to the realization that ultimately, as a society, there is a lot that we take for granted and our health is at the top of this list.  Until presented with the situation, I had no idea what staying strong was all about.  It’s more than just a physical strength, it’s a mental strength that embodies how my wife and I live every single day.  Not only are we there for all of our son’s physical and emotional needs, we are also there for each other in the physical and mental battles that lie ahead.  It’s embracing the fact that, no matter what, we will make it through and try to present our son with the best possible life that we can.  STAY STRONG!

Through it all I/we have learned that there is so much more to be thankful for than these physical things.  We have an absolutely amazing little man in our lives and I feel blessed that God gave him to us to take care of.  All we can do now is our part to raise awareness and money for research, in hopes of finding a cure for this terrible disease.  With the help of families across the world, CureCMD.org was able to raise over $280,000 in 2011 and $519,000 in 2012 and $490,000 in 2013.  Some of these monies were used to collaborate with leading physicians across the world and assemble a Standard Of Care for children with CMD.  The goal behind this fundraiser is not only to find a cure but in the meantime to discover clinical applications to improve the lives of those… like Kaden… affected with CMD’s.  We thank ALL OF YOU for your support!

Jeff Smith

Owner/Founder

Muscle Club Apparel®

Care instructions:

• Machine wash cold with like colors
• Do not bleach
• Tumble dry low
• Cool iron
• Do not use fabric softener
• Do not dry clean