Our names are Paul and Laura Heaton. Our son Grant is seven years old and was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at age three. Duchenne is a genetic disease that destroys muscle, all of them. There is no cure or real treatment for Duchenne. Boys that are affected by it don’t make it out of their 20’s and are wheelchair bound from around age 10 to 15.

We are dealing with this disease as best we can and doing what we can to keep Grant ambulatory for as long as possible. To this end we do physical therapy, swimming, horseback riding, daily stretches and exercises at home, along with doctor appointments. This is what we can do to help Grant.

Along with all of this we thought that another thing we can do is raise money for research towards a cure and viable treatment. To do this we decided to have a cattle sale. Billings Livestock Commission and Cure Duchenne have been (thankfully) willing to help us. Sellers can bring in a calf, yearling, cow etc. and donate either all of their check for that animal, a set dollar amount or a percentage of the sale price.

All money donated from the sale will go to Cure Duchenne and then to research that will hopefully benefit Grant. All donations will be tax deductible and go to find a cure for this disease. We would like to say thank you for helping us with our cause and hope to see you September 15 in Billings at BLS.

Sincerely,

Paul, Laura, Elyse and Grant Heaton

For questions or to donate cattle, contact Paul Heaton at calvestocuredmd@gmail.com or 406.660.1208 

Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/calvestocureDMD 

CureDuchenne is a national nonprofit raising awareness and funds to cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Paul and Debra Miller founded the organization in 2003 after their son, Hawken, was diagnosed with Duchenne. Since then, the organization has funded numerous scientific projects to fast-track research and new treatments for Duchenne, while advocating for the community with education and support programs.