July 13, 2013, was the day,
the day that felt like the whole world was crashing down.
The news was unbearable.

My mom came out from the office.
Her face was pale and showed signs of dread and exhaustion.
The words seemed as if they were in slow motion falling out of her mouth,
“Reports came back from the doctor, and your cousin, Colin, has SMA.”
My mind was stunned.
I did not know what to do, what to say, or how to feel.
As I turned to look at how everyone was reacting,
that was when it all hit me.
Nothing would ever be the same.

The next few months are different,
every time I am with Colin I can see…
I see the symptoms that everyone was so blinded to before.
His legs are motionless and unmoving.
He can not move his toes.
He even struggles with lifting a cup to his mouth for a drink of water.
Everything that is so easy for me, is an everyday battle for Colin.

Colin’s wheelchair was a new beginning-
he now rolls around with other kids,
even joins in soccer games at school.
Colin is treated no differently than any other kid.

June 5, 2017, was the day,
the day that felt like the world was grinning from ear to ear.
Their is hope,
hope that the new medicine, Spinraza, will cure this disease,
the horrible disease that is SMA.