Hudson with pre-school teacher Twyla Pobuda

This week marks Teacher Appreciation Week, and we can’t think of a better role model than this preschool teacher who spotted a developmental quirk in a little boy who was then able to get early treatment for a serious and rare condition.

Every child is unique in terms of their development—but there are some milestones in childhood that, if delayed or missed, could be a warning sign of a deeper medical issue.

That was exactly the case for little boy named Hudson, whose parents consider his preschool teacher to be a blessing because she spotted a very early sign that Hudson might have a rare muscle disease.

The Arizona teacher noticed that he was not running as fast as the other children in class and – notably – was relying on something called the Gower’s maneuver to get himself up off the floor (a maneuver in which a person uses their arms to walk their body from a seated to standing position).

From her experience with other students Hudson’s age (3-4 years-old at the time), she knew that type of movement wasn’t normal and pulled Hudson’s parents aside to share her subtle observation with the advice that they should have him checked out by a specialist.

“Hudson would walk up to the classroom with a very large–gated, slow walk holding his mom’s or grandma’s hand for help,” recalled the Tucson-area teacher Twyla Pobuda.

“When getting up from the floor, sitting, or playing on the grass, he would have to get on all fours and push himself up with both of his hands, sometimes struggling to rotate his hips to a comfortable position to get up. Running was also hard for him to coordinate his muscle strength.”

“I decided that I needed to ask his mom if she had noticed any of these motor skill struggles at home. Little did we know or expect the diagnosis that was finally to come.”

A visit to a neurologist and subsequent testing led to the scary diagnosis: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease that affects a child’s ability to walk by the time they reached middle-school age.

“Mrs. Twyla is such a blessing to our family,” Hudson’s mom told GNN. “Without her I truly believe Hudson would have gone undiagnosed for a while and we would not have been able to receive early interventions.”

“We are forever grateful for her courage and her knowledge of preschoolers.”

Getting that early diagnosis proved invaluable because Duchenne is a progressive disease where muscle is lost every day. Twyla’s sharp eye ultimately enabled the boy in 2023 to become one of the first children in the country to receive Elevidys, the first and only FDA-approved gene therapy for Duchenne—giving the family hope for Hudson’s future.

“I truly believe that Mrs. Twyla was brought into our life for a specific reason, and she has changed the trajectory of Hudson’s life.”

MORE GOOD NEWS FOR DUCHENNE:
• ‘Wearable Muscles’ Restore Mobility in Those Who Have Trouble Moving Their Arms
• Boy With Crippling ‘Suicide Disease’ Takes First Steps in a Year After Traveling to US for Pioneering Treatment

“Since we found out when Hudson was still fairly young, we were able to provide early intervention which is key to treating Duchenne… and he would not be doing as good as he is today.”

“Almost 4 years later, Hudson is able to enjoy his childhood, all because one teacher cared enough to make a difference.”

OVERCOMING MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: The Steven Hawking of Drone-based Agriculture Overcomes Disability with Entrepreneurial Drive

Initially, the family had reported similar observations to their pediatrician, but he was not concerned—so they knew that something was off when they were approached by Mrs. Twyla, who now considers the outcome to be a bit of a miracle.

“I was relieved to have an answer,” she told GNN. “There surely was more to the plan for Hudson’s life and that was nothing but a miracle!

“It takes one voice of concern to make a difference and each child deserves that.”

HONOR YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS By Sharing The Inspiration on Social Media…