Ralph has served as the executive director of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology Foundation and the Berwyn Cicero Council on Aging, helping to establish the organization and begin serving the community. He was also an AARP regional vice president for a decade and, prior to that, the Illinois State Director for four years.
He holds BS and MA degrees in psychology from Loyola University of Chicago and worked as a licensed clinical professional counselor in Illinois for three decades. He also holds an MBA degree from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Ralph has served on numerous boards for nonprofit organizations and in 2018 founded the LGMD2L Foundation to help look for treatments and cures for his form of muscular dystrophy.
For those of you who follow my column, I have some good news: Sammy Eikahldit is back. My alter ego, Sammy, first appeared in my column on true accessibility for all. He returned a couple months later when we discussed how to effect positive change. Sammy has been…
As we finish the first month of 2020, I keep thinking about how time flies as I get older. There are many theories for this phenomenon. For me, it’s all in the math. When I was 10, a year was 10 percent of the time I’d lived on this…
My experiences writing this column over the past year have been fabulous. But it was daunting at first to put pen to paper to capture what so many people feel. My first column talked about starting something new and the excitement this brings. But the reality is that the…
I sometimes wonder how I will survive Chicago winters going forward. Winter is not a problem for some people with neuromuscular disorders. But for those of us in colder climates, it’s a big deal. The reality of my city’s wet and slippery conditions means I need to live creatively…
The world of employment and disabilities is difficult for me to understand. Readers of my column have always been good about giving feedback. I’d love your input on this subject because it is so important. The numbers don’t make sense to me. As a society, we can do better for…
Many of you who follow my column know that I focus on how those of us with a disability stay strong mentally and physically. I have also written about advocating for ourselves as patients and effecting positive change in society. I will turn 61 next month. I began…
I can’t believe it’s been 13 years since I started exhibiting muscle loss. A lot has happened since then. My loss is slow but steady. Even when I plateau, I look back and realize that I’ve weakened over time. But if my column has one overarching theme, it’s that we…
I have spent my entire career working and volunteering in the nonprofit arena. My focus has moved from mental health to aging to disabilities. I learned from each step and took that knowledge into the next phase of my life. There were always things I could use in the future.
We often have the radio on at home in the mornings to keep up with news and events. I was working at my home desk recently when I heard an astonishing comment from an on-air guest on a program broadcast by our local radio station. The guest was discussing the…
My first column for Muscular Dystrophy News Today focused on the excitement of starting something new in life. I promised that future columns would focus on the many adventures awaiting us. The hope of traveling and seeing the world is exciting. And companies are offering better information about accessible…
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