My mind, body and spirit become connected while dancing in my wheelchair
posted on January 1, 2012 - 12:07pm
Sixteen years ago, I learned I have limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD).
My doctor explained that LGMD would take away my freedom to perform everyday functions such as walking, climbing, sitting, dancing and playing sports, and that it would eventually lead to extreme muscle wasting, daily pain and the need to use a wheelchair.
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.”
Caring and dedicated amateur chef receives top honor posthumously
posted on October 1, 2011 - 3:34pm
Wherever he went, Scott Crane spread joy.
At the Corner Bakery Café where he worked, he was known for being helpful and kind. When he volunteered for MDA and other organizations, he was always upbeat and enthusiastic. Even during long hospital stays due to respiratory issues, he remained cheerful and positive.
“Spread smiles to everybody everywhere each and every day,” was one of his mantras.
Quest shares lessons from parents who have successfully helped their children with muscle diseases grow into self-reliant adults
posted on October 1, 2011 - 3:32pm
When Vance Taylor was a boy, he didn’t know any adult he could look to and say, “There’s somebody like me.”
His mother, Morena Noyes, recalls the first time she took Vance and his sister Kathy — both of whom have limb-girdle muscular dystrophy — to MDA summer camp.
“We were still in the parking lot, in our Astro van,” Noyes says. “Vance looked, and then he turned to his sister and said, ‘Kathy,...
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.
Deciding to experience an abundant life allows for the fewest regrets in the end
posted on October 1, 2011 - 12:33pm
Many years ago, when the physician said that my son Joe, who had type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, perhaps would live until 2 years old, I went into “Rambo mode,” ready to attack anything that got close enough to harm him.
But as the years went by and Joe’s health held stable, I silently vowed I would do my best to allow him to live outside the sterile little bubble I had created around him.
