For 18 years, Linda VanVliet spent most of her non-working time taking care of her daughter, Shelby, who was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy at 3 years old. (That diagnosis was later changed to titin myopathy.) Linda’s work as a school nurse also allowed her to step in quickly when Shelby needed care. “For a . . .
Located at more than 150 of the top healthcare institutions across the United States, MDA Care Centers serve as the nexus for expert clinical care and medical research. Our Care Center Network offers tens of thousands of appointments each year for individuals living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular diseases. These appointments provide individuals . . .
When Stephanie and Wayne Donato received the diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) for their son Maximus, who was 4 at the time, in 2017, “we were completely blindsided,” Stephanie says. The couple quickly realized there were a lot of people they needed to tell, and they started with their own family. The Donatos also . . .
It can be overwhelming for educators to learn the various challenges associated with neuromuscular diseases and to take those considerations into the classroom. The good news is that these students also come with their own unique set of deep strengths, and educators’ role in encouraging, supporting, and motivating them draws on many of the skills . . .
Like many middle-school kids, 11-year-old Callen, of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, has turned his mom, Jamie Moulthrop, into a chauffeur, she jokes. He participates in karate, baseball, hockey, and surfing, and he meets up often with friends at the pool and splashes around for hours. Unlike the other kids around him, though, Callen has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a . . .
When Kristine Welker’s son was young, he wanted to be as involved in sports as everyone else in the family — and that meant a high level of activity, from biking and boating to organized sports and running. “Our son is our third child and by the time he came along, we figured he’d follow . . .
Every year, Deborah and Jeff Corbett went to their son Josh’s annual checkup with a set of questions. They checked on Josh’s chronic ear troubles and surgeries, inquired about his lagging motor skills, and at his 4-year visit, they asked about his peculiar running gait. When he was 5, they mentioned Josh had difficulty getting . . .
At more than 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, kids and adults living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have access to multidisciplinary care teams made up of different specialists who can coordinate in one place on an appointment day to optimize a complete care plan. Included on these teams are allied health professionals and social workers who . . .
At more than 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, kids and adults living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have access to multidisciplinary care teams made up of different specialists who can coordinate in one place on an appointment day to optimize a complete care plan. Included on these teams are allied health professionals and social workers who . . .
In March, as the novel coronavirus spread across the US, we at MDA realized it would be impossible to safely gather our community’s children and teens at MDA Summer Camps this year. But that didn’t mean we had to cancel camp, or its spirit. “We know how much MDA Summer Camp means to our community, . . .
