When a Florida mum took her toddler son to the science museum she took a few snaps as her son, 18-month-old Kaden, played with another boy.
She was so moved that she felt compelled to write the boy a letter thanking him. Why? Because her son Kaden has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and she was touched by the mystery boy’s total acceptance and kindness towards her little one.
She wrote the open letter on her Facebook page:Â
“To the little boy at the science museum, I don’t know who you are, but thank you for being amazing. You let my son play and engage with you.”
“You helped him pick up balls from the floor when you saw that he could not. You didn’t ask what was wrong with him or why he couldn’t walk, you just saw him.”
“Kaden is a lot like you; he is very curious and wildly smart.”
“He wants to know how everything works. Thank you for helping him turn the lever when you noticed he was too weak to do it himself.”
“You will probably never see this but just by being you, you make this world better.”
Kaden’s mum is committed to raising awareness for her son’s illness. Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetic disease that causes deterioration of muscle and progressive loss of movement. According to her website KadensCure, SMA has been named by the National Institute of Health (USA) as being the disease closest to a cure. She writes:
“Many believe that a cure and treatment would already exist if there was more awareness about the disease. So why isn’t there more awareness? Statistically, the chance of being born with SMA or dying in a car accident is identical.”
She describes the shock of discovering Kaden’s diagnosis:
“His life wasn’t going to be what we imagined it would be but it would be his and we would do everything in our power to make it the best life possible. He is still our perfect baby boy.”
This inspiring mum is working tirelessly to bring about changes that could spare other babies and their families from the pain of SMA:
“1 in 40 people unknowingly carry the disease. Help us fight SMA together and learn how you can ask your OB to recommend carrier testing for every prospective parent.”
