MDA’s 2011 Personal Achievement Award recipient for Montana has Dejerine-Sottas disease, helps others with disabilities
posted on October 3, 2011 - 3:53pm
When talking with Leanne Beers of Missoula, Mont., you can’t help thinking that this is one upbeat, optimistic woman.
“Even though you have muscular dystrophy, or any limitation for that matter,” she says, “it doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish the goals you want. You just may have to go about it differently. There’s no reason you can’t be happy and thrive on life.”
The story you're about to read is true; the names have been changed to protect the guilty
posted on October 1, 2011 - 3:31pm
I’m fortunate in that many of my paid caregivers have been professional, reliable, respectful, pleasant and hard- working. Some have been with me for so long we think of them as family. Whether it was sharing my excitement over self-publishing a novel and moving into our new house, or helping me through the misery of my first months of diabetes and the nightmare of my mother’s breast cancer, they...
Bill Beall and Gail Ableman, who each have Friedreich's ataxia, live independently thanks to 'the kind of love that can overcome challenges'
posted on October 1, 2011 - 2:39pm
Sharing a life together in Spokane, Wash., Bill Beall Jr. and Gail Ableman — who each use power wheelchairs due to Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) — spend much of their time working out to maintain their independence.
MDA’s Quest magazine and a love of exercise brought them together — and their love of each other makes possible their continued independence.
The Desktop Desk helped a California student with DMD finish school despite diminished hand and arm strength
posted on October 1, 2011 - 8:15am
David Davison is a friendly, outgoing young man who loved attending school. But last year, as David’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy progressed, his arm and hand strength decreased to the point where he could no longer participate in many classroom activities.
Then one day, David’s special education class at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif., received a gift from a local service club: a new...
Officials learn from MDA panel about improving access to higher education, employment and independent living for people with disabilities
posted on September 28, 2011 - 5:31pm
When Angela Wrigglesworth, who has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a power chair, first started college at Texas A&M, she planned to be a business major.
Getting to the business school, however, involved crossing a set of train tracks, and one day, Wrigglesworth’s chair got struck on the tracks.
Wrigglesworth received help from bystanders to free her 300-pound chair before a train came...
MDA's Personal Achievement Award recipient for New York City is thriving in the Big Apple
posted on September 8, 2011 - 8:57am
Tabitha Estrellado is living her dream. She’s a 27-year-old career woman with a nice apartment in Manhattan. She loves her job, has a sweet commute, and writes music and performs locally in her spare time.
Get those cameras ready! MDA is seeking Make-a-Muscle pix and photos of accessibility makeovers
posted on July 28, 2011 - 10:33am
This summer, MDA is inviting everyone to participate in its new "Make a Muscle, Make a Difference" public awareness campaign by submitting photos of friends and family flexing their muscles for MDA.
MDA also is seeking photos for its "Accessible Spaces Gallery" debuting in August on the MDA Transitions Resource Center, a website designed to help young people with muscle diseases make the...
