Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thane/Wilsons-disease-patients-b...

Thane: Twenty-six-year-old Janice Mendonca was a part of an outing organized by a support group on Saturday to a water park in the city and actively enjoyed every ride. Nothing exceptional apart from the fact that she is battling Wilson's disease, a genetic disorder for the past eight years. She participated in the outing with 24 others, who are also suffering from the disease.

Mendonca said, "People often look at us as if we are abnormal only because of a defect in a single chromosome. Being with those around me who know what I am going through, I feel like there is nothing we cannot do provided we take our medication and treatment.

Dr Aabha Nagral of Children's Liver Foundation, the group that organized the outing for these patients, said that it is only with the help of such outings that these children can move out of their isolated shells and develop friendship, which will help them emotionally and medically.

"As these children remain in isolation, getting them to socialize is essential and this is where support groups play a big role. Sometimes, we have patients who skip medicines and get lazy when it comes to physiotherapy. It is when they see their peers recovering quickly that they too start taking their treatment seriously," added Dr Nagral.