Dudleys Diary

afternoon. Extraordinary Measures is about a fathers quest to try and find a cure for a debilitating neuro muscular disease that two of his three young children suffer from. The movie is based on a true story and the disease is Pompe disease and is rare. Dudley read there are only around 2,000 cases in the United States. The disease is genetic and can show up at birth in which case the children don't usually survive to adult hood. There is an adult onset form of the disease in which case the life span is much longer but usually is shortened due to the many complications of the disease. Dudley suffers from a form of Muscular Dystrophy but the exact type has not been determined. Dudley's neurologist thinks he may suffer from Pompe disease and Dudley is going to undergo some DNA testing in the near future to see if perhaps he is suffering from this disease. It is a long shot but it would be nice to know a definite diagnosis. Pompe disease is also the only form of Muscular Dystrophy for which there is a drug which has been shown to treat the disease effectively. It will not cure the disease but can stop the progression and possibly reverse it's effects to some extent. Dudley enjoyed the movie and thinks it was worth seeing. Dudley walked away feeling blessed after seeing the young children dealing with this dreaded disease. Dudley has had a much better life than those poor kids could ever hope for. Now those kids have a chance, at some kind of a life. That's all anyone can hope for. And if it turns out Dudley has this disease, there is hope that he can get this treatment at some point in the future. Hopefully before it is too late for Dudley.