Due West Youth Chosen MDA 2006 National Goodwill Ambassador
TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 8, 2005 — Luke Christie, 12, of Due West,
S.C., has been named the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2006
National Goodwill Ambassador.
Luke and his family will travel the country in 2006 to represent families
served by MDA and affected by neuromuscular disorders. They'll take
part in fund-raisers and meetings of national MDA sponsors and give
media interviews.
Luke also will be featured in MDA promotional materials used nationwide
and will appear on the 2006 MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon on Labor Day weekend.
“Luke’s charm and charisma are contagious,” MDA National
Chairman Jerry Lewis said. “I’m deeply honored to have such
a wonderful young man and his family spread the word about MDA’s
commitment to wiping out neuromuscular diseases.”
Luke is the son of Brad and Gloria Christie, and has two older brothers,
Parker, 18 and Spencer, 15. Brad is an English professor at Erskine
College and Seminary, and Gloria is a certified dental assistant.
Luke has type 2 spinal muscular atrophy,
a progressive neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the arms,
legs and torso. He uses a power wheelchair for mobility.
Luke is a seventh-grader at Cherokee Trail Elementary in Donalds. He
enjoys reading, writing stories, listening to country music, swimming
and being active in his Boy Scout troop.
A young man of many dreams, Luke wants to become a pastor in a Presbyterian
church, a novelist, director at a community theater, a chef and a restaurant
manager.
The nation was introduced to Luke and his family when they were profiled
and interviewed live on the 2005 MDA Telethon.
Luke and his family take part in many local events and fund-raisers
for MDA, and Luke is serving his third term as MDA’s Goodwill
Ambassador for South Carolina. He has attended MDA summer camp for four
years.
Luke succeeds 6-year-old Morgan Fritz of St. Peters, Mo. She also has
SMA.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular
diseases through programs of worldwide research,
comprehensive services and far-reaching professional and public health
education.
MDA-funded researchers have isolated the gene that, when defective,
leads to the disintegration of motor neurons (nerve cells that control
the movement of voluntary muscles) and causes several types of SMA.
MDA-funded scientists are testing potential SMA treatments, while MDA
clinics provide medical management for children and adults affected
by the disease.
Luke receives services at the MDA clinic at the Medical University
of Georgia in Augusta, one of MDA’s 240 hospital-affiliated clinics
nationwide.
The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual
private contributors.
### |
