My teacher and my best friend’s mom talked amid the gaggle of parents picking up their kids from…
Matt Lafleur
Matthew's life doesn’t look like what he imagined when he was an active Cajun boy. Once diagnosed at age 11 with Friedreich’s ataxia, he threw himself into books, writing, and studies, achieving a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in mental health counseling. Writing a column at Friedreich’s Ataxia News and serving as the associate director of columns for its parent company BioNews is a perfect combination of his two degrees. He notes life’s small, often overlooked successes in his column. In progressive disability, Matt tries to notice his little victories, hoping that others notice their own ... or something like that.
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Articles by Matt Lafleur
I saw one of my middle school teachers the other day. Two decades have passed since I was…
‘I’m Going to Teach You to Walk’
The sky turned pinkish and the clouds became bright blue as the Louisiana sun reached its western-most point…
I was the weird kid who asked my mom to fix me a plate of spinach as an after-school snack.
Lights, Camera, FA!
My physical therapist Kevin pushed a sofa to the middle of the room. I positioned my wheelchair next to it…
I looked around and grinned. Our individual values are upheld by the people with whom we surround ourselves,…
A Scar that Exposed My Worth
Before I knew it, I was face down on the tiled floor. When I started to fall forward,…
The Sound of Forgiveness
I was grateful to be around my large extended family at our yearly Christmas party.
2019: A Year of Little Victories
I learned a new word this year: “mFARS,” which stands for the modified Friedreich’s Ataxia Rating Scale. The…
“The Zeego Tales” track the wonders of my life with my service dog, Zeego. The day Zeego decided…