As we celebrate the new year, former MDA National Ambassador Joe Akmakjian takes the time to celebrate accomplishments of the past while looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.
Joe Akmakjian has always been an avid fan of MDA Team Momentum but this year he had an extra special reason to root them on.
MDA National Ambassador Joe Akmakjian debunks a few myths about SMA in recognition of SMA Awareness Month.
Alicia Miro, whose son lives with MD, shares why she runs the Marine Corps Marathon with MDA Team Momentum and why you should too.
This Father’s Day, we’re recognizing an extraordinary MDA dad. Josh Argall was initially devastated by his son Devin’s DMD diagnosis, but once the shock wore off, he resolved to do everything he could for his son and all MDA families. “I can’t discover the new medicine, I can’t provide healthcare, but I can contribute to the mission in my own way, so that’s what I decided to do…There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for MDA. Knowing how these parents feel and these children feel, that’s what keeps me going.”
I’m a 25-year-old college graduate. I’m an adult and I can prove it. I have bills, grown-up responsibilities and the obligation to do things I don’t want to do. Still, regardless of the date of birth listed on my Colorado State ID, some people still treat me like a kid. Unfortunately, a lot of the world finds it easy to infantilize people with disabilities.
She’s always been a whirlwind. But Kierra’s new power chair has turned that whirlwind into a tiny tornado.
31-year old Keisha Greaves of Cambridge, Mass., lives her life with flair. With a degree in fashion design and merchandising, this fashionista lives and breathes style. Keisha, who has a subtype-unknown form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), uses her fashion background to bring together her two of her favorite passions: clothing design and advocacy.
As an adult living independently with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Joe Akmakjian had to learn to cook for himself with the help of others. “Cooking through the hands of someone else is a talent,” he says.
National Ambassador Joe Akmakjian recently attended the 2017 MDA Scientific Conference. He writes, “I found the conference to be very hopeful and exciting experience. It was an honor to meet the people who have made a career out of saving my life and the lives of the other individuals and families. Everyone connected to MDA should be excited to know that these researchers are actively sharing ideas and discussing ways to solve problems and find the solutions we’re all looking for.”
