The water tower in Van Alstyne is lit purple this month, and the reason is a local boy who is currently busy with T-ball and piano lessons.
Easton Wieck was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy through newborn screening. His parents, Leslie and David Wieck, are both carriers of the genetic condition, which neither had reason to know before he was born.
SMA affects muscle strength and movement. Untreated, it typically carries a life expectancy of about two years, according to the family's account of what they were told.
Easton received gene therapy at 28 days old and remains on additional medication.
What that timeline means
The gap between diagnosis and treatment is the entire story here.
Newborn screening found the condition before symptoms appeared, which is the point of screening for it at all. Treatment followed within a month of birth, at an age when a parent is still mostly managing feeds and sleep rather than watching for signs of anything.
The result is a child who does the things children do.
