Kendall Harvey is a wife and mother of two in Austin, Texas. She has been navigating life with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) since her diagnosis in 2013 at the age of 25. She worked in marketing before “retiring” to be a stay-at-home-mom. She is an optimistic warrior fighting for a better future free of FA. Until that day comes, she aspires to inspire others with her column by detailing personal life lessons about grit and grace. Kendall shares a message of hope despite disability.In my journey with progressive Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), I battle a wide array of symptoms. While increasingly poor balance seems to be my most disruptive and frustrating symptom, it’s not the one that keeps me up at night.
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When you are the parent of kids ages 5 and 3, you read lots of fairy-tale books and watch countless Disney movies. You become part of the wonderful stories and see hardworking ladies becoming princesses, toys saving the…
Friedreich’s ataxia is a daunting, life-altering diagnosis. It changes every aspect of your life, especially as your disease progresses. It changes your ability to do the things that once came easily, and takes away your ability to…
Because of my Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), I use a walker as a mobility aid. The walker helps provide the stability that I can’t accomplish on my own, which helps prevent falls. My walker is with me wherever I…
I am the proud mother to two children: my 5-year-old son and my nearly 3-year-old daughter. We just celebrated Mother’s Day last weekend. My family always does a wonderful job of making me feel loved and cherished. Annual…
The biggest things in our lives tend to occupy most of our brain space, such as family, significant others, friends, jobs, goals, pets, finances, plans, and so on. I have an additional big thing: Friedreich’s ataxia. Before I…
Part of the personal process of accepting my Friedreich’s ataxia diagnosis was deciding to do something proactive to try to secure a better, disease-free future for my fellow FA patients. An integral part of my efforts to make…
I’m always alarmed when I notice the progression of my Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) symptoms, which highlight the harsh reality of my progressive neurological disease. Recently we got a new puppy, and training her has highlighted my FA progression.
One of the harsh realities of life with Friedreich’s ataxia is falling. That was my first major symptom and a red flag. I knew something was wrong because I was falling more than I did previously, and it happened…
I was an athlete until my mid-20s. I swam competitively for 14 years and was a cheerleader, a volleyball player, and an avid runner. My involvement in organized sports ended with my formal schooling. However, that didn’t stop me…
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