A father today explained the shock tactics behind an advertising campaign he has launched to help find a cure for his six-year-old son’s muscle-wasting condition.
Harrison Smith was born with duchenne muscular dystrophy, which leads to loss of movement and, eventually, paralysis. Sufferers have a life-expectancy of around 25.
There is no treatment and no cure, but his father Alex has given up his job to dedicate himself to finding one. He hopes to achieve this by funding research through his charity Harrison’s Fund.
A campaign for the charity, launching today, features a picture of Mr Smith and Harrison and carries the slogan: “I wish my son had cancer”.
Explaining the advert, which appears on page 20 of the Standard, Mr Smith said: “For many people the notion of even wishing your child had cancer would be tough to understand, how could I wish a terrible disease on my own child? But the brutal truth is that there is a treatment in most cases. With duchenne there is no treatment, no cure, it’s 100 per cent fatal and at the moment one day he will be dead.” via: London Evening Standard.
Alex explains the disease and the ad in the video below. More at http://www.harrisonsfund.com/