Little Victories - a Column by Matthew Lafleur

I couldn’t take another step. My forehead was covered in sweat underneath my dark brown bangs. I was miserable from the top of my head down to my aching legs.  At 13, I hadn’t yet been considerably affected by Friedreich’s ataxia.

An old tree once stood beside a creek far behind my childhood home. It wasn’t on my family’s property, but because wild blackberries grew there, I was willing to trespass to get to the ripe berries. After eating a handful of them, I’d rest my back against the old tree…

I was thinking of egrets as I landed uncomfortably on the floor after my wheelchair brake betrayed me. Well, it wasn’t really a betrayal, but rather my own fault for kicking the brake as I turned over while I slept. A few hours later, as I was making the always…

Knowing when to accept help and when not to is a regular challenge for those of us with progressive diseases. “Do you want me to push you down the hall to the kitchen?” my personal care attendant, a family member, or a friend might ask. This…

A large, old oak tree used to grow outside my bedroom window. A few weeks ago, it fell during the bluster of Hurricane Delta. The tree crashed down while I was less than 20 feet away, yet I slept through the fall, none the wiser. (If a tree falls outside…

I intentionally fell off the treatment table. A metallic taste filled my mouth as I thudded onto the matted floor with a crash, looking less like a superhero and more like a marionette whose strings were cut. My fall was neither steady nor…

I have no idea what I’m doing, I thought as I turned my head from side to side in an effort to provide the photographer with a variety of angles so that he might have a viable shot to work with.  He had asked…

Many trees stand stoically on my family’s property, one of which I pass each time I ride my recumbent trike. I take notice of its bark and branches more than I have with any other tree in my life. I only recently found out the name…

Moist, squelching sounds filled the otherwise silent room as the sonogram of my heart was being conducted. I was lying on my left side on the slim hospital bed, at my yearly cardiovascular checkup. One of the most important tasks to ensure the wellness of…

I have a confession to make: The part of my Friedreich’s ataxia diagnosis I used to be most grateful for has now become something I question. Is it a good thing that while the rest of my body breaks down, my cognitive function remains the same?…