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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive | ||||||
| 3 | form of muscular dystrophy that causes muscle weakness with | ||||||
| 4 | symptoms beginning in early childhood and has no cure; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is caused by a | ||||||
| 6 | mutation in the dystrophin gene, located on the X chromosome, | ||||||
| 7 | which is spread to the child through genetics affecting around | ||||||
| 8 | 1 in 3,600 boys; women can also carry the gene, but typically | ||||||
| 9 | do not show the effects of DMD; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is not first | ||||||
| 11 | noticeable at birth, with symptoms usually showing early signs | ||||||
| 12 | around ages 1-3, but symptoms progressively increase as the | ||||||
| 13 | child grows older; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The early signs of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy are | ||||||
| 15 | the child having difficulty walking and running; when holding | ||||||
| 16 | the child you can feel a looseness of muscles; calf muscles | ||||||
| 17 | look bulky, but are weak; as the child grows older, they use | ||||||
| 18 | their hands to help themselves get up; the child's speech | ||||||
| 19 | development may also be delayed; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy can affect boys from | ||||||
| 21 | any background and is not more prevalent in any race, culture, | ||||||
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| 1 | or socioeconomic background compared to another; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, There is no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, | ||||||
| 3 | but treatments exist which have made great progress to help | ||||||
| 4 | people living with this disease; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a fatal disorder, | ||||||
| 6 | with those who are affected having a life expectancy of around | ||||||
| 7 | 25 years; living with this disease is incredibly difficult for | ||||||
| 8 | the child and their families; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy was | ||||||
| 10 | established in 1994 to help families living with this disease, | ||||||
| 11 | bring awareness to the public, and raise funds to expand | ||||||
| 12 | research for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The 20th annual conference of the Parent Project | ||||||
| 14 | Muscular Dystrophy will be held June 26-29 in Chicago; this | ||||||
| 15 | conference brings families from around the world together to | ||||||
| 16 | learn about the progress being made in the fight to end | ||||||
| 17 | Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 19 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 20 | we designate the week of June 23-29, 2014 as Duchenne Muscular | ||||||
| 21 | Dystrophy Awareness Week in the State of Illinois; and be it | ||||||
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| 1 | further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy as a symbol | ||||||
| 4 | of our esteem and respect.
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