Columns

“The Zeego Tales” track the wonders of my new life with my service dog, Zeego. “Hurricane Barry” sounded innocent enough — more like a goofy uncle than a scary predator. After making landfall in Louisiana, the hurricane was renamed a tropical storm, which is what reached my…

I’m learning to be cautious of the commitments I make, big or small. I don’t like to wear myself out for reasons I can’t get excited about or when I can’t see the potential return on my investment of time. I also don’t like to leave things unfinished,…

It is hard to believe that July has come and gone, and that the summer season is officially coming to an end. In addition, my birthday month, August, has fast approached. This year, I will turn 29 years old. As I mentioned in my column…

“I’d give all of my degrees to write as powerfully as Melville,” Dr. Cicardo mused. She had read a passage from “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale“ aloud to her small college class. She reminded me of a proud songbird who recognizes the beauty…

I appreciate the consistent mindset this column helps me employ. With every new day, new challenge, or new opportunity, I quickly find myself coming up with new excuses as to why I can’t do something or why I shouldn’t try.

My 27th birthday is this week and I don’t know how to feel about it. I am definitely not one of those people who dislikes getting older — yet. Until I was diagnosed, I always looked forward to birthdays. Now they are markers of my disease’s progression. I thought time would…

Summertime is all about enjoying the outdoors with warm weather on your skin. The season is full of barbecues, family picnics, festivals, and more, with the people you enjoy most. Everyone needs to take precautions when in the heat. But the symptoms of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), combined with the heat,…

My unease kept growing on the first day of this evening class during my third semester of college. The professor hadn’t shown up yet, so we were a small group of seven or so students sitting around a long table in a small classroom in Griffen Hall, the…

I am finding that change is so much easier when I tackle the changes I want to make with small, short-term goals in mind. I’ve heard that advice in the past and it’s always been a “feel-good” message. However, now I’m seeing its impact when I apply the…

Since receiving my diagnosis of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) back in 2011, I have attended two series of physical therapy sessions. I was an outpatient at the local University of Pennsylvania hospital branch in 2014 and 2017. Initially, when I went in 2014, I wanted to familiarize myself with…

Finding a job when you are disabled is challenging. The search leads to frustration, and in my case, shame. I couldn’t find a position, even with decent grades from college and grad school. I sent out hundreds of résumés, attended dozens of job interviews, and moved…

Sometimes I wish that life would slow down, and some days, I convince myself that it will. That’s probably not true, though. I tend to take on projects and manage my calendar in seasons. This method implies that a “season” of less work and fewer projects, a period…