posted on September 1, 2005 - 4:02pm
Plenty of people believe their lives are captivating enough to be page turners, but transforming their impressions into book material can be a harrowing tale.
Although the prospect can be challenging, some people with neuromuscular diseases have pushed their experiences into publication. Writers who understand the stages of the process and the potential rewards have an advantage.
MDA National Personal Achievement Award recipient credits success to ‘doing whatever is humanly possible'
posted on November 1, 2004 - 11:26am
“I’m an advocate every day of my life,” said Michael J. Wasser of Brooklyn, N.Y., a tax and real estate attorney with the New York City Law Department Office of the Corporation Counsel in the Tax and Bankruptcy Litigation Division.
“With every property I close on, every meeting I attend, every court I appear in, my achievements and abilities as an attorney illustrate that persons with...
Teacher receives MDA National Personal Achievement Award
posted on October 1, 2002 - 4:16pm
Amy Dunaway-Haney does not "persevere in the face of overwhelming odds." She is not "making the best of herself in spite of being dealt a lousy hand."
‘The wheelchair comics are coming,’ warns Michael O’Connell (Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy), who loves to leave ’em laughing
posted on May 28, 2010 - 2:54pm
What started out as an item on O'Connell's bucket list is now an almost nightly occurance: performing comedy on stage.
“So this woman comes up and tries to give me a dollar. I wanted to say, ‘Hey! Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I’m homeless!’”
After eight years in prison, Terrence Stevens, who has spinal muscular atrophy, founded a nonprofit that’s helping children of inmates succeed in life
posted on December 30, 2010 - 11:27am
For eight long years, Terrence Stevens — who goes by the nickname "T-Wheels" — had the dubious distinction of being the only inmate in the New York state prison system with “muscular dystrophy.”
Stevens actually has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3, but he says no one in prison knew or cared what his true diagnosis was.
Conditions were horrible for inmates with disabilities, says Stevens...
Ralph Braun, who has spinal muscular atrophy, turned his scooter and modified van designs into a multimillion-dollar business
posted on June 14, 2011 - 2:30pm
Ralph Braun clearly remembers the day he learned he had “muscular dystrophy.” The experience taught him a lesson that shaped who he is and helped drive him to achieve great success.
In his autobiography, Rise Above, (2010, The Braun Corporation), Braun describes the hot day in 1947 when his parents took him to be evaluated at a hospital in Indianapolis. Braun was 6, and had been having...
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.
When the recession brought an end to his 25-year journalism career, Peter Callas Jr. remembered his parents’ message: Never give up
posted on April 15, 2010 - 12:35pm
Peter Callas Jr. remembers as if it were yesterday the day his father gave him “the F.D.R. talk.”
It was 1973, and Peter Jr., then 13 years old, had just been diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
Stacy Zoern liked the wheelchair-accessible Kenguru electric car from Hungary, so she started a Texas company to produce them
posted on February 22, 2012 - 3:23pm
Stacy Zoern has entered yet a new phase in her already eventful life — this time at 25 miles per hour.
U.S. Dept. of Justice Seeks Job Applicants with Disabilities
posted on June 1, 2009 - 4:08pm
Attention job seekers with disabilities interested in working in the U.S. Department of Justice: This is a good time to apply.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently issued a memo calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hire and promote people with disabilities, with the goal of making DOJ “a model employer with a diverse workforce that includes people with disabilities.”
