3 brothers all diagnosed with incurable brain disease

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Stolen from The Sun's website....

A DEVASTATED couple yesterday told of their heartbreak after an incurable disease hit their THREE young sons.

Nicola and Scott Smith learned just weeks ago that Callum, six, suffered from genetic disorder ALD.

Now they have found out their other sons Connor, eight, and Jack, five, also have it. And Nicola, 26, must live with the fact she unwittingly passed it to them.

She only learned she was a carrier of the disease — which only hits males — when Callum was diagnosed. By then it was too late to save his brothers.

Nicola, from Leicester, fought back tears last night as she said: “This disease is like a lottery. For a long time our family have been lucky but that luck has just run out.

“We knew there was a chance Connor and Jack would have it, but hoped and prayed they would escape.

“We cannot believe this is happening — it’s a nightmare.

“It is hard to be strong when we already have one very sick boy and then find out our other two are facing the same illness.”

Callum began having sight problems a couple of months ago. Checks revealed he was suffering from ALD and his brothers could be too.

Nicola said: “The doctor started to explain the disease to us and I asked the dreaded question: Is he going to die? She slowly nodded her head. We lost it.

“The most devastating thing is the way it will take hold of the children. They will lose their sight and hearing — then not be able to walk or talk.

“Eventually, it will claim their lives and we’ll have to watch that happen.

“It is beyond the worst nightmares of any parent. I had no idea I was the carrier of this disease — I had never heard of it and there have not been any cases in our family in the past.

“At first I felt really, really guilty. But the more I spoke to people, the more I realised there was nothing I could have done.”

Sheet metal worker Scott, 28, said: “I am trying to be strong as a father, but it is incredibly hard. We want to make the most of the time we have got with them and not dwell on what could happen.”

The disease, Adrenoleukodystrophy, attacks the brain and central nervous system. Common symptoms include aggression, memory problems and poor school performance.

Treatments include Lorenzo’s Oil — made famous by the Hollywood movie starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon.

It told the true story of Augusto Odone, who developed a special type of olive oil that delayed the symptoms of his son's ALD. But there is no cure, and sufferers with the most serious form of the disease usually die within two years of diagnosis.

Experts said the odds of three brothers having the disease at the same time were millions to one against.

Dr Jayaprakash Gosalakkal, of Leicester Royal Infirmary, said Callum was already showing symptoms — and scans will soon reveal the extent to which his brothers have suffered potentially lethal brain damage.

He added: “So far Connor and Jack have no symptoms, but they could begin to show in the next few months or years.”

From http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006230696,00.html

How terrible must the parents be feeling right now? To lose a child would be absolutely heartbreaking, but to be told you're going to lose all 3, and a disease you gave them is the reason, it really doesn't bare thinking about. My heart goes out to that family today :(
 
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