BALLARAT youngster Max Shorter is set to join a new global gene therapy trial in a bid to tackle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
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Parents Belinda and Leigh say the 10-year-old was excited to do what he could to help others like him and his brothers in their fight with the degenerative disease.
The family has patiently waited for the trial, which has been postponed a couple of times, in the hope it would make a difference.
Max, Will (who turns nine next month) and Hudson (six) remain busy, active children with little sister Sofia (four). The brothers' journey with DMD has inspired strong community support, including funds to install a hydrotherapy pool led by Buninyong-Mount Helen Lions Club and a cubby house for their new house a couple of years ago.
DMD is a genetic disorder that almost exclusively affects boys and destroys muscle. It will likely leave the boys in wheelchairs in their early teenage years.
Family friend Brendan Charleson has been wanting to help ease pressure on the Ballarat family for a while and so, he looked to what he knows best - wines.
There is a taste this afternoon for how you can help the Shorter brothers right up to Christmas.
The De Bortoli sales manager is teaming up with Cellarbrations at Jacks for a tasting of De Bortoli's La Boheme, Villages and Woodfired ranges. For every mixed case of six sold by Christmas Eve, in store or online, $20 will directly go to the Shorter Brothers.
Grill'd Ballarat is also chipping in a free burger to customers for every $100 they spend. A Grill'd fundraiser four years ago helped send the family to Disneyland.
Belinda and Leigh say money raised will likely able the family to buy a bigger car to accommodate the mobility aides the boys would soon need.
De Bortoli is hosting a tasting in Cellarbrations at Jacks on Saturday, 3-6pm. For more details or to support online, visit here.
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