Mike Pound: Fundraiser to help girl with muscular dystrophy

Earlier this year, Shelby Shores got into a bit of trouble at school.

Well, not so much at school, but at home. It was for something that Shelby did at school. Shelby is in the fifth grade and attends Carthage Middle School, and what she did was something that, on the surface, doesnt seem like such a big deal. Shelby ran during her gym class.

One of Shelbys friends saw her running and later mentioned it to her mom, who called Shelbys mom, Claire.

I told her that she knows shes not supposed to be running, and she said, But Mom, I just want to be like everyone else, Claire said.

Unfortunately, in some ways, Shelby is not like everyone else. Shelby has benign connective hypotonia, which is a fancy term for a form of muscular dystrophy that causes low muscle tone and strength, which makes a seemingly simple task such as running difficult.

There are a lot of tough things about muscular dystrophy but one of the toughest, I imagine, is dealing with the fact that you cant do things other folks take for granted. For Shelby, Claire said, middle school has made her try to accept the fact that she has issues to deal with that her friends do not.

Its a constant balance, Claire said. Shes starting to see that she has to rely on people and she hates that.

In elementary school, Shelby could walk the halls of Mark Twain, but she cant do that at the much larger Middle School.

Shes starting to learn her limitations, Claire said.

Learning is one thing, accepting is another, and Shelby still has work to do in that area, Claire said. But if anyone can understand what Shelby is going through its her mother. Claire also has a form of muscular dystrophy, as did her late mother. Claire said that since muscular dystrophy is caused by a defective gene, its not uncommon for the disease to pop up in successive generations.

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Mike Pound: Fundraiser to help girl with muscular dystrophy