Florida Senate - 2009                            (NP)    SR 1068
       
       
       
       By Senator Rich
       
       
       
       
       34-01700-09                                           20091068__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing August 2009 as “Spinal
    3         Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month.”
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a relatively
    6  common “rare disorder,” affecting about one in 6,000 babies, and
    7  about one in 40 people are genetic carriers, and
    8         WHEREAS, SMA is found mainly in newborns and children,
    9  affecting the spinal nerves and the voluntary muscles that are
   10  used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck
   11  control, and swallowing, and
   12         WHEREAS, SMA affects muscles throughout the body, although
   13  the proximal muscles are often most severely affected, causing
   14  weakness in the legs and arms, and sometimes affecting feeding
   15  and swallowing, and
   16         WHEREAS, SMA involves respiratory muscles, which can lead
   17  to an increased tendency for pneumonia and other lung problems,
   18  and
   19         WHEREAS, SMA does not affect sensation and the ability to
   20  feel, intellectual activity is normal, and patients who have SMA
   21  are unusually bright and sociable, and
   22         WHEREAS, SMA is an autosomal recessive genetic disease,
   23  which means that in order for a child to be affected by SMA,
   24  both parents must be carriers of the abnormal gene, both must
   25  pass this gene on to their child, and the likelihood of a child
   26  inheriting the disorder is one in four of those cases, and
   27         WHEREAS, SMA crosses all racial, ethnic, and gender
   28  boundaries and, although it is primarily diagnosed in children,
   29  it can affect people of any age, and
   30         WHEREAS, Families of SMA, a grassroots organization, is
   31  working to help raise awareness of the disease and funding for
   32  research, education, advocacy, and patient services, and
   33         WHEREAS, individuals and organizations that bring greater
   34  awareness to health issues and assist people in their quest to
   35  overcome related obstacles are a great benefit to the health and
   36  welfare of all citizens, NOW, THEREFORE,
   37  
   38  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   39         
   40         That August 2009 is recognized as “Spinal Muscular Atrophy
   41  Awareness Month.”