Little Victories - a Column by Matthew Lafleur

I was in high school when I first encountered a famous line by Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” At the time, I thought it was relativistic nonsense. I believed the world was divided into good and bad, and confusing the…

If there were a Mount Rushmore of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) advocates, it would depict four action shots of Kyle Bryant. Kyle, 42, is a trailblazer in the FA community, and his positive, encouraging attitude is infectious. I’m lucky to call Kyle one of my good friends; he’s the person…

Note: This column includes a mention of suicide. Resources for help are listed at the end. I grew up with an unwritten rule that wasn’t taught by my parents but seemed to be what society expected: “Whatever difficulties you face, keep them to yourself. Everyone else has enough difficulties to…

My interest was piqued this month when I read about positive Phase 2 trial results for a drug from Larimar Therapeutics, as it’s a clinical trial that I’ve been closely following. This potential treatment for my rare disorder, Friedeich’s ataxia (FA), is especially exciting for me because it…

I’ve never been a fan of making big resolutions at the start of a new year. I don’t like the idea of a “new year, new me.” I think the reason I’m harsh on New Year’s resolutions stems from the onslaught of my progressive disorder, Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). As…

Bionews CEO Chris Comish often repeats the phrase “We’re just getting started.” He’s said it so many times that it’s become an unofficial motto at the company. But the phrase is more than a well-wish; it’s also a call to action and a reminder to stay the course because…

When life gets overwhelming, my mind will often escape the reality before me, at least momentarily. I’m unsure if these brief internal retreats are daydreams, escapes, or the products of an overactive imagination; maybe all of them. But I’ll refer to this tendency as “dreaming” in this column. To me,…

“Friedreich’s ataxia.” After long months of visiting different kinds of doctors all over my home state, those were the words the neurologist uttered. My family and I had desperately sought a medical reason why I’d begun to doubt and question my functioning, even as my 9-year-old peers were getting more…

Friedreich’s Ataxia News proudly presents “Beyond the Friedreich’s Ataxia Basics,” a live, virtual roundtable discussion taking place at 6 p.m. EST Nov. 1. This free event is open to all audiences — patients, friends and family members, caregivers, medical professionals, and anyone curious about the current state of the…

I’m no cartographer, but the adventurous part of me has always awakened when I hear about the saying supposedly inscribed on ancient maps: “Here be dragons.” Even though historians now believe that the phrase was only used on a single 16th-century globe, the rumor that most medieval maps warned…