A MUM diagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy has told of the heartbreak of waiting to find out if her daughters could carry the gene.

Wendy Hamilton, 46, and her daughters Sophie,14, and Aimee, 9, need to wait for results from a muscle biopsy before they will know.

The biopsy in the next few weeks will tell Mrs Hamilton from Oakenshaw what type of Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy she has which will make all their futures clearer.

“I know that my muscles will waste away over time and eventually I will, no doubt, be in a wheelchair. I’m waiting for a muscle biopsy at Bradford Royal Infirmary which will detect which sub-type of Limb Girdle I have which will also tell me whether my children carry the gene. That is my biggest, upsetting concern.”

Mrs Hamilton’s daughters help her with chores and daily tasks as well as helping her wash her hair and bathe while their dad Paul works long hours co-running a structural engineering business.

“They do a fabulous job. I don’t know what I’d do without them. This has had a massive impact on all of us and the fact my children are also my carers isn’t easy to cope with for all of us,” she said.

Support from local schools, the local residents’ association and the church have helped raise more than £400 for Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Mrs Hamilton, who had to give up her job as a parish secretary at a Bradford church, was diagnosed after pain in her back and hip got so bad she had to crawl upstairs.

“Muscular Dystrophy came as a massive shock. No one in our family has had it but I found out there are types of the condition that are passed on in genes. Many never manifest. It can be passed down the generations without people knowing. Some people might have only mild symptoms because of it while others will end up in a wheelchair. I guess I’m a bit unlucky.

Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy affects from the knees to the neck but has a number of sub-types. There are about 1,400 people who have her type in the UK but many thousands more who have other forms of Muscular Dystrophy.

“We just live day to day and get on with it doing the best we can,” said Mrs Hamilton.

To make a donation to support Muscular Dystropy UK go to musculardystrophyuk.org.

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