Sean Baumstark, of Sacramento, California, was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) in 2007 at 25 years old. He envisions what would change in his personal life if there was more FA awareness.

I imagine there would be a greater sense of confidence. I believe I’m a fairly confident individual. However, there are certainly moments where, you know, I get in my car or I’m walking through the airport, and I can tell people are staring at me and wondering why I’m using a walker, or wondering why I move funny when I reach across the table to grab the salt shaker or whatever it may be.

No matter who you are, you can always say, you know, “I don’t let what people think bother me.” And there’s some truth to that for sure. But I think deep down, there’s always something that’s going to nag at people when you know other people are looking at you or staring at you and you start to wonder, “What are they thinking about me?”

And I know, again, that’s not life-giving. But it’s so true to human nature. We’re always wondering what other people are thinking about us. And I feel like if awareness were increased, then people would more likely assume something is not right and be a little more empathetic instead of judgmental.