Prom to be held for boy with deadly disease
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BAY CITY, Michigan (WNEM) — A mid-Michigan family is dealing with a deadly disease that has no cure, but a 15-year-old boy has already defied expectations.
Armand was only supposed to live to age 10, but now, he’s getting ready for prom.
“Incredibly exciting just to be able to celebrate Armand in this way,” said Lindy Sutton.
Her son Armand’s prom is at the end of the month in Bay City. The invite-only event is something Sutton wasn’t sure her son would live long enough to see.
“Armand was diagnosed in 2011 with GM1 gangliosidosis,” she said.
Sutton said Armand, who just turned 15, was only supposed to live to age 10.
“This disease destroys the brain and it destroys the spinal cord very, very slowly. So, you just kind of watch your child deteriorate in front of your eyes,” Sutton said.
Armand lost the ability to walk, talk, and eat on his own when he was four, but he still has his sight and limited hearing. Sutton said her son enjoys music and being around family and friends.
“We’re going to have a DJ and he’s going to play music all night for us. We are going to crown Armand the king. Of course, we’re going to sing him happy birthday,” she said.
Sutton said 200 invitees plan to attend.
She said doctors now tell her Armand should live to his mid-teens, and now being 15, there was a sense of urgency to make this prom happen.
“I just cannot express how incredibly grateful I am to everyone that has supported Armand. All the sponsors that are being incredibly generous,” Sutton said.
She also wants to raise awareness about the disease that will someday take her son. She said doctors don’t think Armand will live long enough to see a cure, but she’s hoping that won’t be the case for other children in the future.
“Helping children in the future, and families in the future, if children can overcome this disease in the future, or have it cured, that would mean everything to us, and to Armand as well,” she said.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disease begins with a gene mutation inherited from each parent. Symptoms can appear in infancy, childhood, and adulthood.
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