GenMed Lab Mom: Part 2: Nepal and the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation Pictures

Anil Upadhyay- General Secretary of MDF

Karuna at the place she loves

Anil Upadhyay and Karuna Pokharel, started Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, Nepal around 2000, shortly after they learned their son, Anushpa Nepal had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Although Anushpa died in 2008, his parents still fight for the children that need them.

The roads in Kathmandu are in great shape compared to the rest of Nepal but in poor to damn awful shape compared to roads in the US. Because of this children with muscular dystrophy usually stop going to school due to accessibility problems. They stop going anywhere.

The Center provides physical therapy and ambulance services with a full time Physical Therapist and a driver to go with the ambulance. The driver picks up kids to bring them to the center. A couple days a week the PT goes to the homes. The center also provides counseling to parents and sisters of boys with muscular dystrophy.

The government supports the Center by paying for diagnosis through CPK or biopsy. They provide braces and wheelchairs if necessary.

MDF, Nepal plans to build a Center where every aspect of muscular dystrophy can be addressed, including genetic diagnosis and care of boys with physical therapy.

A boy with duchenne at the MDF Nepal Center

Prabha Chaulagain offers counseling and runs the MDF office

Karuna and Prabha are in the MDF office every day.

After all of the talk and meeting the wonderful people who do so much with so little to help boys with muscular dystrophy, I did a little sightseeing and souvenir buying. It was so much fun!