Evan Winter was identified him with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) earlier this 12 months which solely round 2,500 folks have within the UK – his household at the moment are raisng funds to construct a safer future for his or her son
A seven-year-old boy has been identified with a uncommon muscle-wasting illness after getting extreme leg cramp at a celebration.
Evan Winter was gradual to progress as a child and didn’t stroll till 20 months outdated and was clumsy. His mum, Laura Winter, 31, thought he was simply “a bit bit lazy” and his toe-walking was associated to his autism prognosis.
In February 2025, Evan developed extreme leg cramp at a laser tag celebration and when he was nonetheless limping the subsequent morning his dad and mom rushed him to the GP who identified him with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
The genetic situation causes progressive muscle degeneration and sometimes leaves kids totally reliant on a wheelchair and round the clock care by their early teenagers.
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Evan’s household are determined to boost funds to construct a brand new objective constructed house that’s secure for him. Laura, a disclosure threat assessor at Kent police, from Maidstone, Kent, stated: “He was very delayed as a toddler, so when he did begin strolling he would complain always ‘my legs harm, my legs harm’.
“He would say ‘carry me, carry me’ however we thought he was simply being a typical toddler. However we have been all the time instructed it was as a result of he’s autistic – that toe-walking and tiredness have been simply a part of that.”
She added: “Each time we talked about the cramps or his strolling they only stated autistic kids typically stroll on their toes or he was simply cautious. We had no concept what DMD even was. We had by no means heard of it.”
Laura stated: “It was an entire shock. Although we had just a few weeks to course of it, I feel there was nonetheless hope that it might be one thing else. I keep in mind asking our GP afterwards, ‘Did you assume it was this?’ She stated no, she thought it might need been a vitamin D or calcium deficiency. She’d been a physician for 30 years and had solely ever seen one DMD affected person.” For the reason that prognosis, Evan’s world has modified dramatically. He now makes use of a wheelchair for longer journeys and is about to start steroid therapy in an effort to gradual the situation’s development.
She stated: “He stated, ‘I feel it’s Duchenne. I may be mistaken, however I don’t assume I’m.’ We nonetheless needed to watch for a proper prognosis, however I feel we knew by then.”
The household acquired the official prognosis of DMD, after Evan had acquired blood exams, on March 25, 2025. Laura stated: “It was an entire shock. Although we had just a few weeks to course of it, I feel there was nonetheless hope that it might be one thing else.
“I keep in mind asking our GP afterwards, ‘Did you assume it was this?’ She stated no, she thought it might need been a vitamin D or calcium deficiency. She’d been a physician for 30 years and had solely ever seen one DMD affected person.”
For the reason that prognosis, Evan’s world has modified dramatically. He now makes use of a wheelchair for longer journeys and is about to start steroid therapy in an effort to gradual the situation’s development.
Greater than £1,000 has already been raised via their GoFundMe web page and the household hopes this would be the begin of constructing a safer future for Evan. Laura wrote: “We by no means imagined we’d must ask for assist like this. However we’ll strive with all the things we’ve got to offer Evan a secure and cozy house, the place he can have the very best childhood, we can provide him.”
You’ll be able to donate to the GoFundMe web page by clicking right here.
