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Let Them Try Out Their Wings

Happy August! I don’t know about where you live, but here in Alabama, instead of waiting until after Labor Day, school starts early this month. While August doesn’t tend to bring cooler temperatures in these parts, I hope that this time of year will bring not only much-needed routines but…

Sometimes I Just Want to Be Average

Everyone could see me grimacing uncomfortably. “Here we go again,” I think as I feel an uneasy lump in my stomach. I find myself back in 1999 in a recurring, unpleasant dream I have every few months. In the dream, I’m at my desk near the back of a seventh-grade…

Allowing Time to Contemplate My Disabilities Is Helpful

If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of mental energy thinking about “what might be” and dreaming about “what could be.” I’ve always had big aspirations, and I reach for the stars when I set my sights on something. I don’t easily give up or settle. I have…

Slow and Steady Doesn’t Always Win the Race

One of the most frustrating effects of the progression of my Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) symptoms is how slow I’ve become lately. Physically, I do everything more slowly. Not only am I slower than I used to be, but also I am slower than everyone in my life. I talk more…

‘We’re All in This Together’

Welcome, friends! I hope you are staying cool and spending some quality time with those you love. I am so thankful for you and the part you play in this community. It’s July and super hot here in Alabama, where I live. My family and I have probably been watching…

What My Recumbent Trike Means To Me

As a Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) patient, my options for exercise are limited. I can’t go to kickboxing or step classes with my friends, and I can’t go for a run or a hike. While many popular types of exercise, such as dancing, high-intensity interval training, and the bar workout, are…

Do People Want to Hang Out With Progressive Disease Patients?

I’m no stranger to this question, but I wasn’t the one who posed it recently. Ever since I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) in childhood, I’ve dealt with its progressively disabling symptoms, including the transition from awkwardness to quitting sports to using a wheelchair — all during puberty.

A Letter to My Newly Diagnosed Self

Dear 2013 Kendall, Your world was just rocked and turned upside down. I know you feel like your future is an impossibility now that Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) has clouded your blue skies. I am here to tell you that yes, that future is gone. But it doesn’t mean you have…