My 24/7 Ventilator Keeps Me Alive

DESPITE being told by doctors she would ‘just be a pair of eyes’ a young girl is defying odds and following her dream to act and sing. Maddison Sherwood has been using a wheelchair since the age of two, she cannot breathe unaided and needs 24-hour care due to her rare muscle and respiratory condition. The 10-year-old from East Leake, UK has an extremely rare condition called spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1). It is thought she is only one of between 40 to 60 known cases worldwide.