Columns

When I finally discovered the benefits of support groups

I’ll admit that I was a support group cynic in my younger days. My attitude was that I’d figure things out on my own. I just couldn’t see the benefit of sitting around a table and talking to others about my struggle with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). In retrospect,…

Why lending a hand to a person with FSHD should make the news

Getting surprise help when you have facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) isn’t considered newsworthy. But maybe it should be. These days, it seems that most, if not all, of the news on television and social media is bad. These negatives aren’t limited to reports on wars, hurricanes, inflation, pandemics, and…

How Duchenne deters dreams about the future

I drove my oldest son, Max, who is 17, to his second college visit this week. As we veered onto the interstate, I told him I knew someone his age who’d already decided to attend the school we were about to visit. He was surprised. “Already?” he said. “How…