A young man who lived with a muscle degenerative condition has died just four days after his cousin and 11 years after his older brother, both of whom had the same illness. Luke Parker, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was just 26 when he died on June 8 after spending two days in hospital.
Luke's mother, Judy, said her son's death, as well as the death of her nephew, John, had come as a "shock" to the family. Judy, 53, also lost her son, Paul, to Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2011, and also had a brother who lived with the condition. Both her sons began using wheelchairs once they were around nine or ten years old.
"It came as a shock," said Judy of her son's death. "We had lost my nephew on the Friday, on June 3, to the same condition and he [Luke] went downhill from the Monday. He was fine in the morning and then come the afternoon, he just wasn't himself. With the loss of my nephew as well, it was just shock and stress. He was well, it was just all of a sudden he became ill." You can get more Cardiff news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
