news, latest-news

Emilio Eid only turned 10 in the past year but, heartbreakingly, he's probably already lived half his life. When his father Elie was told in 2006 his son had been diagnosed with duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition which would take his ability to walk and eventually his life, he was stunned. "I couldn't comprehend the news," Mr Eid said. "I was just told my son's going to die and, I just, my life went on hold. "You've heard them say dead man walking? That's what it felt like." Mr Eid said rather than accepting his son's illness, he decided he would raise money to help scientists find a cure. He set out on Friday to push his son Elie all the way from Sydney to Canberra over 12 days to meet Prime Minister Tony Abbott and raise awareness of his son's condition. "My son's 10 ... he's starting to deteriorate and as a dad that pains me to see," he said. "I just can't watch it, I refuse to and I'm going to save him. "These kids are usually confined to a wheelchair between seven and 13, you've got 10 per cent who live to their late 20s and 30s. "I may lose the battle and my son may lose use of his legs and never walk again. But I am going to save his life." Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects about one in 3500 young boys worldwide, causing weakness in the arms and legs eventually leading to paralysis and death. Mr Eid said through a series of events he has raised millions of dollars over the past seven years for his charity, Save Our Sons, to put towards research in the United States. He said his goal was to bring a trial of a cure for the condition to Australia so his son and others like him could take part. "They told me [when he was diagnosed] within five years we should have some sort of a potential breakthrough that would lead them forward," Mr Eid said. "Well we're in 2015 and that's nine years. "I can tell you that we're at least two to five years away still." Mr Eid said he hopes to raise $150,000 from the Walks to Save Our Sons, part of an overall target of $3.5 million to pay for further medical trials. "I want to do it in memory of the boys we lost, I want to give the boys of today some real hope and the boys of tomorrow a future," he said. Money can be donated to the organisation at www.saveoursongs.org.au.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/1fd6d0df-6633-4fc6-8200-3bb855e7010e/r0_106_2000_1236_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg