Detroit, MI - Joseph Penrod, a Commerce Township kindergartener, possesses a ravenous appetite and a spirited love of soccer and dancing. His mother, Marissa Penrod, is determined to keep it that way. In the year since Joseph was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that could rob him of his mobility, Penrod has become a fierce advocate for her son — and an overnight concert promoter.

After a chance meeting, Penrod and local hip-hop artist Hush came up with the idea of a concert to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Penrod hopes to sell 2,200 tickets to the Feb. 5 show at downtown Detroit’s Fillmore Theatre. In addition to Hush, the benefit will feature rhythm and blues band Hot Sauce and Southern rocker JoCaine.

All the performers collaborated on a new song specifically for Joseph, “Keep on Believing,” that has become the family’s battle cry.

“They and the song are my voice,” Penrod says.

Joseph, 6, is a sweet-natured kid who is learning how to play the electric guitar, and who enjoys playing with his brother, Sam, 9, sister Katie, 12, and Charlie, a huge golden retriever.

Doctors suspected that Joseph had muscular dystrophy when they saw how he pushed on his thighs with his hands to rise from a seated position. It’s a classic manifestation of MD, which impairs the ability of muscles to repair themselves. Blood and genetic tests confirmed that he had a variation of the disease known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

“We tell people if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know,” about Joseph’s condition, Penrod says.

“You don’t get to pick what you’re handed, but you do certainly get to choose how you handle it. Everything they handed us was about the history and the past of the disease. We’re going to make Joseph the future of it. We’re going to change the future of what this disease looks like.”

Joseph understands that his muscles don’t work quite the way they should. “We hope to move this along in terms of research and a cure, so he doesn’t really have to know,” Penrod says.

Every night Penrod and husband Jeff guide Joseph through stretches to inhibit scar tissue that could build up in his hip, thighs and calves.

She met Hush at an autism benefit, and was touched by his eagerness to contribute. She marvels that the musicians were willing to sit down with her and help her think big.

“It’s an eye-opener to know that you’re looking at a child, and he’s just a baby, and you know some point in his life, it’s going to get hard,” said Hush, himself the father of three boys.

The benefit is an all-ages show. “We’re encouraging people to bring their kids,” Penrod says. “Everybody wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. This is allowing the best in people to come out.”

Source:
FreeP.com