Research Log #8 - Solutionary Project 2021

Date: Mar 20, 2021

Name: Macie Tsang
Essential Question: How do neuromuscular disease affect a child and their family’s lives?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Neuromuscular diseases can negatively affect mental health.

#2: Neuromuscular diseases make it difficult to receive/find medical care.

#3: Neuromuscular diseases make it difficult to receive a “normal” education.

Point that this Source Proves: #2

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

DMD causes muscles, including the heart and lungs, to become weaker, creating a need for “individuals with
Duchenne [to] see many different specialists. Conor’s mom calls herself the care coordinator” (Living with Muscular
Dystrophy).

As the biography stresses, “for people living with Duchenne, care coordination often becomes the responsibility of the
primary caregiver” (Living with Muscular Dystrophy).

As “care coordinator,” Conor’s mother is responsible for contacting the multiple doctors that Conor needs to visit: “’If
Conor gets to the emergency room for some reason, the first doctor [she] would call is the pulmonologist (a lung
disease specialist). [She] feel[s] like that’s number one’” (Living with Muscular Dystrophy).

Routine surgeries become more complicated in an individual with DMD: “A few years ago, Conor needed cataract
surgery. Ophthalmologists (eye specialists) typically do cataract surgery at outpatient surgery centers, but Conor
needed to be at a hospital. ‘It took [them] a year and a half until [they] found a doctor who would do it’” (Living with
Muscular Dystrophy).

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

This short biography provides direct evidence of the difficulties surrounding receiving medical care for a child
with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. DMD causes muscles, including the heart and lungs, to become weaker, creating a
need for “individuals with Duchenne [to] see many different specialists. Conor’s mom calls herself the care
coordinator” (Living with Muscular Dystrophy). This shows that it can be difficult to receive care because one person
needs to have the ability to manage several different doctors. The role is extensive enough that Conor’s mom actually
named the position. She needs to be able to juggle each doctor, book appointments, and ensure that if something
happens, all the doctors are called to assess Conor.
As the biography stresses, “for people living with Duchenne, care coordination often becomes the
responsibility of the primary caregiver” (Living with Muscular Dystrophy). As “care coordinator,” Conor’s mother is
responsible for contacting the multiple doctors that Conor needs to visit: “’If Conor gets to the emergency room for
some reason, the first doctor [she] would call is the pulmonologist (a lung disease specialist). [She] feel[s] like that’s
number one’” (Living with Muscular Dystrophy). This demonstrates the complexity of receiving medical care and
needing to consult multiple doctors because there are numerous concerns if his health fails.
Routine surgeries become more complicated in an individual with DMD: “A few years ago, Conor needed
cataract surgery. Ophthalmologists (eye specialists) typically do cataract surgery at outpatient surgery centers, but
Conor needed to be at a hospital. ‘It took [them] a year and a half until [they] found a doctor who would do it’” (Living
with Muscular Dystrophy). This reveals the intricate networking required to coordinate a regularly simple treatment.
DMD creates a need for extra caution that the typical doctor does not want the responsibility of. If the procedure does
not go as planned, the doctor would need to be equipped and qualified for any scenario that would not happen with a
healthy patient, which contributes to how difficult it is to find the correct doctor.

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

“Living with Muscular Dystrophy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 27 Oct. 2020, www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/musculardystrophy/stories.html.

This is a reputable and reliable article because it was published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
it only publishes credible stories.