A mother has shared her three-year-old son’s heartbreaking battle with dementia and says he has lost the ability to talk and walk.
Joey Walton’s family was left devastated after he was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy as a baby.
The rare genetic condition causes fatty substances to accumulate in the brain, spinal cord, nerves and organs.
In an interview with The Sun, his heartbroken parents, Liam and Katie, said that their son’s health deteriorated in the past year.
Katie, 35, shared the moment their little boy stopped making progress as a healthy child and prompted her to call his doctor.
“In the following two months, his legs started to bend and his feet began to turn outwards,” she expressed.
The couple took their son to a physiotherapist, who realized that something was wrong with the young boy as he could no longer sit up.
Joey’s MDL has been detected too late but if diagnosed during its early stage, treatment can help the patient have higher chances of survival.
Liam and Katie are now trying to make the most of the time their son has left.
They are also supporting a campaign calling for screening for MLD at birth for every child.
MDL is a rare, genetic, degenerative disorder that affects around 1 in 40,000 people worldwide.
Even though it is an inherited condition, parents are usually not affected.
There is currently no cure for MLD. Patients with the disease are deficient in the arylsulfatase-A-enzyme, which breaks down fatty substances called sulfatides.
The buildup of sulfatides causes the destruction of myelin, the protective covering on the nerve fibers that enables communication between the brain and the nerves.
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