TIM suffers from a rare type of muscular dystrophy called spinal muscular atrophy.
The condition is inherited and has a number of forms. The adult-onset forms typically start after the age of 20.
MD causes muscle weakness and a progressive loss of movement by damaging the nerves of the spinal chord.
Around 6,000 people in the UK have some form of spinal muscular atrophy.
Children whose parents are both carriers have a one in four chance of developing the disease.
Kennedy’s syndrome is the adult form that manifests between the ages of 20 and 40.
It only affects men and is caused by a defect on the X chromosome.
Most forms of SMA appear in early infancy or during childhood.
