Chandigarh,30 March : Indian Muscular Dystrophy Association held its annual get together today, the 30th March at Govt. Museum & Art Gallery Sector 10, Chandigarh. Patients from various parts of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh participated. This is a non profit voluntary organisation dedicated to the cause of MD and other Neuro-muscular diseases.Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder. The muscle fibres are gradually replaced by fatty tissue and the normal function of the muscle is impaired. There is gradual degeneration of muscles. There are many types of MD. It can affect people of all ages. Although some forms first become apparent in infancy or childhood, the others may not appear until middle age or later. One of the severest types is Duchenne MD. The patient needs a wheelchair at a tender age of about 10. There is no known cure of MD anywhere in the world.Mr Pallav Mukherjee the nominated councillor of Chandigarh was the chief guest. All the participants felt the need for easy accessibility in public places, transport and parking places. They said the city should be made more wheelchair accessible. He assured all help to the MD association for making Chandigarh a wheelchair friendly city.Members of the Inner wheel club helped the association in every field in making the event successful.
Mr Pankaj Sharma, a yoga specialist gave useful tips for the management of MD.A team of physiotherapy doctors lead by Dr Goswami from PGI gave demonstration on breathing exercises and special exercises for MD patients to keep them physically active.
A group of ME students from PEC organized the entertainment session of the event with ease and dedication.
During the interaction it was stressed that patients should keep a positive attitude which helps them to overcome the deadly disease. "More than the doctors, it is person’s suffering from the disease that can motivate us lead a normal life and this helps a lot", says mother of a MD patient. Patients shared their experiences & entertained one another with songs and jokes. Able bodied persons accompanying them were not left behind. They enjoyed by participating in antakshari & musical chairs.
In such patients the family support is very important as the person becomes dependent on them as disability increases, stresses Gurbir Singh Kochar, president of the association. Never think of the past nor the future, just think of today & enjoy the day says Gurbir S Kochar.