The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) Labor Day Telethon will feature a familiar face when it airs on KSTC Sept. 4. Plymouth’s Jayson Tibbets, 17, will be one of only four people in the US to share their story on the telethon, which goes from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Tibbets was diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness, at age 3.
He’s been a patient at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare since childhood, where he receives services—including transition assistance while approaching adulthood—from the hospital’s Neuromuscular Clinic. Gillette also connected Jayson to its partner MDA, giving the Tibbets family the support from two valuable resources.
“All parents have questions about their child, but I have even more, says Jayson’s mother, Lynn Tibbets. “Gillette and the MDA come in with a plan in place to overcome our challenges, our obstacles. And if there isn’t an answer, they’ll figure one out.”
The Tibbets hope Jayson’s story will inspire others, spread awareness and help in the ultimate goal of finding a cure.
“I tell the MDA that my job is to help beat this thing,” Lynn says. “I like to say that it’s my business to put them out of business.”
Sharing the same goal, Jayson continues to go about daily life with a distinct strength and striking charm that continues to inspire his family, Gillette and the MDA staff.
“Just because you have a disease doesn’t mean you have everything taken away from you,” says Jayson. “I have limits, but I can still do lots of things.”
