After a devastating diagnosis two years ago, a local family is raising funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Cobram boy Benji Youd, 6, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy just before his fifth birthday.

Benji’s mum, Victoria Paterson, said DMD was a “progressive muscle-wasting disorder”.

“At the moment he’s good with his walking, running and jumping, but as he gets older, his muscles will progressively get weaker,” she said.

“They usually say between the ages of nine and 11 they’ll end up in a wheelchair full-time, and their life expectancy is shortened to mid-20s to early 30s.”

Victoria said when they heard Benji’s diagnosis, it changed their whole perspective on life.

“You have this idea of how your life is going to play out once you have kids, and that just all flipped on its head,” she said.

“The first 12 months were very emotional, a lot of grieving the life that we thought we were going to have, but also trying to stay positive and enjoy what we have, while we have it.”

Victoria said Benji loved swimming, playing on the playground and going to the zoo.

Benji said his favourite things on the playground were the “swings and the slide”.

“He also loves Lego, video games and going down to the river; he’s a pretty happy-go-lucky kid,” Victoria said.

Victoria said a year after Benji was diagnosed, they decided to do a fundraiser for the hospital’s Good Friday Appeal.

“They’d been such a big help to us so we just wanted to give back in any way that we could,” she said.

“The appeal benefits local hospitals as well because the Royal Children’s sponsor equipment for Goulburn Valley Health, and they come up to do training at our local hospital.

“We had huge support from the community last year ... our original goal was only $2500, and we raised over $10,000.

“We’re hoping to break our goal again this year.”

They have an online campaign people can donate to and are also selling raffle tickets for a Build-A-Bear that Benji made last year specifically to raise money for the appeal.

“It’s a brown bear that we’ve dressed up in a police uniform because that’s what Benji wants to be when he’s older,” Victoria said.

Benji said he wanted to be a policeman because he thought they were “cool” and they “help people”.

Many local businesses are involved in the appeal, including Terry White chemist in Cobram, which is doing a raffle, and Middy's Electrical in Echuca, which is doing a silent auction.

Benji’s old daycare facility, Tricky Kids in Cobram, is doing an Easter egg raffle and Benji’s school, Cobram Primary School, is also helping by doing an ‘out-of-uniform day’ for a gold coin donation.

Victoria said that many times the family had felt “very alone” with Benji’s diagnosis and what they were going through at home.

“So to see all these businesses jumping in to help straight away without giving it a second thought is so nice,” she said.

Benji’s dad, Dominic Youd, said it was a “great cause” and urged people to donate however they could.

“You’d be surprised, once you start talking about the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital just how many people are actually affected,” Dominic said.

If you would like to donate to Benji’s Good Friday Appeal, visit: fundraise.goodfridayappeal.com.au/fundraisers/benjaminyoud

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Friday, 27th July 2029

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