A San Antonio family is asking the community for support as their 12-year-old son lives with a rare genetic disease that gradually weakens the body\u2019s muscles.<\/p>\n
Luke Criado was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) at the age of 5. Despite the challenges that come with the condition, Luke’s family says he remains determined to stay active and independent.<\/p>\n
An athlete who plays power soccer, Luke says the challenges motivate him. He describes himself as kind and respectful, and someone who enjoys spending time with family.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs parents, we want to do the very best for our children to be able to provide in the best ways that we can,\u201d said his father, Jacob Criado. \u201cAccessibility is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
That need for accessibility is why the Criado family is raising money for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle that would make it easier for Luke to travel and participate in everyday activities.<\/p>\n
Luke hopes the vehicle would allow him to move around more freely.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel more often with my chair I use at home,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I can be independent like my mom says.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother, Tiffany Flores, said the family moved to San Antonio to give Luke more opportunities and experiences. But as he grows, helping him in and out of their current vehicle has become increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting older, so quite frankly it\u2019s not safe to put him in and out of the vehicle,\u201d Flores said.<\/p>\n
Luke\u2019s family says independence is important to him, and they try to encourage it whenever possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to be independent, and we allow it as much as we can,\u201d Flores said.<\/p>\n
The family is receiving support from the Jett Foundation, a nonprofit that works with families affected by DMD. So far, they have raised more than $4,000 toward the accessible vehicle.<\/p>\n
Even for those who may not be able to donate, Luke\u2019s parents say sharing his story can make a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want Luke to be a face and a voice for kindness, for people, for humanity,\u201d Jacob Criado said. \u201cSo he\u2019s able to live the life that any 12-year-old child should be able to live and have the mobility to see places and experience things.\u201d<\/p>\n
To support Luke, click here to make a donation to the Jett Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A San Antonio family is asking the community for support as their 12-year-old son lives with a rare genetic disease that gradually weakens the body\u2019s muscles. Luke Criado […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}