It changes the expectations and dreams you had about your life as a couple and a family. It tests the character of each spouse, sometimes with surprising results. It brings different priorities into the home. It puts two people through complicated emotions, not always at the same time. When a marriage dissolves after a child is found to have a serious illness, it doesn't mean the child's disease destroyed the marriage.
Most observers believe a serious crisis measures a marriage.
In other words, if a couple's emotional commitment and maturity are weak to begin with, any serious problem can destroy the marriage. On the other hand, many couples have discovered that facing their child's muscular dystrophy together made their marriage stronger. Each individual has a different way of experiencing and expressing the emotions produced by a child's disease. Some of those differences come from the variations in the ways men and women perceive the experience and respond to it. Women are more typically raised to be caregivers, accommodate others' needs and express their feelings.