22nd August 2017 is a date for evermore etched on our memory, it was the day the world as we knew it was ripped apart, it was the day my little nephew Archie was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

It was on the 22nd August that I looked after Archie's brother Freddie whilst my sister took Archie to an appointment expecting to be given inner soles and reassurance all was normal, and left with the news that their beloved son likely had a condition that would rob him of everything they had hoped for him and ultimately take his life too. It would steal his ability to ride a bike, climb trees with his brother Freddie, keep up with his friends or be able to fulfil his dream of becoming a green Lamborghini race-car driver.

When we first found out this news the world as we knew it came to an end, the hopes for their family came crashing down and the dreams they had were replaced instead with a void of desolation, despair and deep, deep pain. We thought we would never be able to live, let alone find joy or enjoyment in life again. However, as we started to look at the new landscape of life with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) we knew we had choices. We had a choice to let this terrible condition destroy both Archie and us as family or a choice to embrace the DMD community with open arms and to gain strength by reaching out to other parents. We learnt there are others just like us, others who are committed to ending Duchenne and will not rest until that goal has been achieved. In our darkest moments we chose to not let Duchenne define either Archie or our family but instead to start fund raising and join the fight to end it.

Archie's March supports Duchenne UK a charity that has one clear aim to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a devastating muscle-wasting disease. It is the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy. Diagnosed in childhood, it mainly affects boys. Started by families affected by the disease, Duchenne UK is the leading DMD charity in the UK: connecting the best researchers with industry, the NHS and families to advance and accelerate every stage of drug development. Together, we will end Duchenne.

Duchenne UK is a lean, ambitious and highly focused charity with a clear vision: to advance research and get treatments into the clinic and to patients as quickly as possible to benefit this generation. And it is shoulder to shoulder with them we stand as they work tirelessly to provide the only real hope for the DMD community and for us.

Please help us by supporting Archies March, a fund within Duchenne UK, every pound of which raised will go directly into research to treat, cure and end Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

With hope and huge, huge thanks