Boy, 12, told he may never walk because of no cure-condition now does triathlons

A 12-year-old boy who was told he might never be able to walk after a muscular dystrophy diagnosis on his first birthday is now a budding athlete who climbs mountains, takes on triathlons and loves a game of ping pong.

Jenson Whitehouse, the youngest of four children of Chantal and Garry Whitehouse, was diagnosed on his first birthday with Duchenne muscular dystrophy – “a progressive, life-limiting, muscle-wasting condition” for which “there’s no cure” – and also has a rare chromosome condition and autism.

“When he was born, everything seemed absolutely fine, but over the first year, we noticed he was delayed with his milestones,” his mum Chantal told PA Real Life.

“We got told: ‘Oh, don’t worry. Children do it all differently’. But I just had an inkling, because of the other three chil