Treatment is not a cure for patients with SMA

Lim (left) and Yap, seen here helping their younger son and SMA patient Branden stretch his muscles, stress that treatment for this rare disease is not a cure and that parents need to be prepared to continue providing care for their child. — ART CHEN/The Star

Where once parents of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients asked her about what is the best care they can give their child, now they will first ask about treatment.

As the co-founder of the SMA non-profit organisation WeCareJourney and mother to a 12-year-old son with the rare disease, Yap Sook Yee is used to helping and supporting her fellow parents who have been told that their child has SMA.