Hawken is a recent graduate from the University of Southern California and a young journalist with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He has previously worked for the Washington Post, Sacramento Bee, KTLA 5 News and at USC Annenberg Media. When not writing columns, he’s reporting on rare disease-related news for the publisher of this website, BioNews.
A 7-mile hike with a 1,000-foot elevation gain was on the schedule for our second day of camping at Point Mugu State Park near Malibu, California. I was with our small Boy Scout Troop 911, which operated out of my elementary school in Huntington Beach. It was a…
Having Duchenne muscular dystrophy gives me plenty of things to worry about, like scheduling doctors’ appointments on time, not knowing when I might lose my ability to do certain actions, and using the bathroom when out with friends, because I know I’ll need help but will be too embarrassed…
Making it to 25 years old is no small feat. It means you’ve survived for a quarter of a century. While 18 is a clear demarcation between childhood and adulthood, 25 makes it even clearer still. I celebrated that moment on my birthday last Friday. Getting this far in life…
Millions of people around the country have quit their jobs in search of more fulfilling work, better hours, and work-from-home options in what the media is calling the “Great Resignation.” Some of them, I’m sure, are realizing that they don’t need to work a full 40 hours to accomplish…
Learning when to say yes and when to say no has been especially important for me as I live with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It’s a balance between trying to rise up in my career by accepting story assignments, and saying no to events, friends, and more assignments so that…
We form our identity from the world around us. That includes factors like our relationships with parents, siblings, and friends, what we look like, our sexual orientation, and our religious beliefs, among others. For me, one unspoken taboo is my disability. I use a wheelchair because I can barely walk,…
Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action on an object there is an equal and opposite reaction. In 1686, his law was groundbreaking, but in 2021, we take its simplicity for granted. There is a consequence for every action taken. When a bullet discharges…
As my Duchenne muscular dystrophy has progressed, it’s become untenable for me to live on my own without outside help. We’ve begun seeking professional caregiving assistance while my parents are away on vacation or work trips. It’s nothing major — mainly help with cooking, cleaning, getting into and out…
Being in a power wheelchair, getting fatigued more easily than the average person, and walking with a waddle-like gait are a few bullet points on a long list of Duchenne muscular dystrophy symptoms that make me self-conscious. But more than that, these realities of living with a…
I started writing for my high school newspaper, The Bolt, when I was 17. Now 24, I’m telling the stories of people who make an impact in their rare disease community for BioNews, the publisher of this site. Over the last seven years, I’ve had the privilege of conducting…
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