Health, Fitness & Wellbeing - brought to you by APL Media • Wednesday 7 October 2026


Specialist Clinics & Private Healthcare • 21 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


world-leading research at Leeds Hospital


Gifts in Wills fund


“I want to make sure boys like me can walk, run and play…” Austin, 12, gamer, football fan and living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy


When Austin was born, his mum, Maxine, had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. He was an unsettled baby and as he grew, his speech and movement didn’t develop as expected. But nothing could prepare the Foster family for the diagnosis they received when Austin was just two years old. Austin has Duchenne muscular


dystrophy (DMD), a rare, progressive and life-shortening genetic condition that causes muscles to weaken and waste away. The condition almost exclusively affects boys, and over time, it robs them of the ability to walk, move and, eventually, to breathe. There’s currently no cure for DMD


and the median life expectancy is just 24 — painfully young for a child with so many hopes and dreams. “It was devastating,” Maxine


recalls. “Being told Austin’s life would be cut short … the grief was immediate. But researching clinical trials gave us a way to fight back.” Austin had already taken part


in a clinical trial and, later, Leeds Teaching Hospitals offered another opportunity — a study led by a pharmaceutical company. These trials are only possible thanks to gifts left in Wills to Leeds Hospitals Charity, which helped fund the clinical research facility where Austin receives treatment, and the post of his consultant, Dr James Foley. Another legacy gift, alongside support from Duchenne UK, funded a new research trials coordinator


Austin has DMD, a rare, progressive and life-shortening genetic condition that causes muscles to weaken and waste away


within the paediatric neurosciences team, increasing access to clinical trials for children at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Although it’s an eight- hour round trip from their home in Norfolk, the Foster family never hesitate. Every journey is a step closer to hope. Now 12, Austin has bravely


undergone over 130 infusions. He knows he’s helping pave the way for other boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy — so that one day, they might run, jump, kick a football and dare to dream of a life beyond 24. “Austin is losing the ability to walk


right now — and that’s a transition we’re all finding incredibly difficult,” Maxine shares. “But we choose to pull together. DMD means Austin’s life will be limited, but together, I believe we can change that.”


Find out more


YOU CAN BE PART OF THAT CHANGE By supporting research at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, you can give families hope — hope for more time and for a future where a diagnosis like Austin’s doesn’t mean a shortened life. Your kind gesture today could lead to a cure tomorrow.


REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 1170369


Call 07378 854327 Email: sue.baulk@leedshospitalscharity.org.uk Scan the QR code or visit leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/legacy for more information.


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