“For any story of changing the world is always the story of many.” — Judith Heumann Tomorrow, June 20, is World FSHD Awareness Day, dedicated to facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a disease that etched itself into my DNA and, since I was 7, completely changed the trajectory of my life. Next month, on July 26, the . . .
In April, MDA fielded a survey to ask its community how COVID-19 was impacting their lives. We heard your responses — anxiety, questions, hope — and wanted to know more. In this six-part blog series, Hacking COVID, people from MDA’s community, all living with neuromuscular diseases, shared how they’ve altered their day-to-day lives, how they’ve . . .
In 1950, when the Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded, muscular dystrophy and neuromuscular disease weren’t well known or well understood. But they were, as today, affecting an entire community of kids and adults. And so in 1952, MDA made a move to introduce this community of individuals and families to the world. MDA’s National Ambassador . . .
An older gentleman came up to me once. I had just been on TV for the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon talking about how facioscalpulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) affects my facial muscles and my ability to really smile and show my teeth. The gentleman put his hand on my shoulder and said with good . . .
When getting acquainted with something new, you can toe-test or you can jump. As for my newly appointed MDA National Ambassador role, attending the inaugural MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference was, no doubt, the best kind of canon ball. Though I have been around the scene locally for decades, this was my first time at . . .
Since the early 1950s, not long after the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s formation, America’s young people living with muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular diseases have stepped forward to share their stories, raise awareness of the need for treatments and cures for rare diseases, and represent MDA’s mission with humanity and grace. More than 40 MDA National . . .
