Aim Higher

Have been watching the Olympics in Tokyo. U.S. athletes make us proud, again. Well done.

Back stories are almost as impactful as the athletic performances. Take April Ross. U.S. volleyball player. A few months before she arrived at Tokyo to compete, her mother and mentor died of metastastic breast cancer. Courageous is an understatement. April admirably competed and never invited a pity party.

However, breast cancer sponsors got their fifteen minutes of fame with commercials to support donations for breast cancer. Sounds OK, right. Timing is everything.

 But wait, I have listened carefully to their message. It is all about breast cancer research finding ways to prolong the lives of sufferers of breast cancer. Longer life -  strangely, no reference to a cure. That’s underachievement!

 We must shoot for the Black Hole in Space to reach planet Saturn. With Duchenne, we must stop fixating on making young boys more comfortable and, rather, truly seek a cure to the dream killer.

Olympians aspire and train and compete to reach seemingly unachievable performance heights. Why can’t researchers, medical providers, pharmaceutical companies, and donors for Duchenne mortal combat possess the same mind set? Answer – they can, perhaps different leadership is in order.

Come on, Duchenne community … let’s shoot for the gold!

 Kindly,

Papa in Tennessee