Columns

I’m not going to be an athlete — and that’s OK. I’ve found a competitive outlet through video games. While sports helps to build friendships and engage in teamwork (I had felt excluded from that opportunity for comradery), video games have leveled the playing field for me.

One of the greatest human needs is to feel that we belong. Most of us, even the introverted ones among us, seek to have a group of people with whom we feel a connection. Family is usually the first community that gives us this sense of belonging, a group in…

College is a busy time in my life. I can easily overbook my schedule and have little time to do homework. I’ve resisted the temptation to stay up late on many occasions. I know the power of sleep. Sleeping about nine hours a night gives me a chance…

First, a thank-you As I begin my second month as a columnist at Muscular Dystrophy News Today, I’m excited to be hearing from you about the columns. I’m on Twitter (@ralphyaniz) and always want to delve deeper. I also love some of the ideas I’m getting. As I…

My life with mitochondrial myopathy has been a roller coaster, but my dog Andre was always there to brighten my world. After days spent healing in a hospital room, I could look forward to coming home to my beloved Andre. If I was suffering through the flu and…

I attended my final class at the University of Southern California (USC) last Wednesday, and I thought this would be a good time to look back at the ups and downs of navigating college with a disability. The support of those around me…

My faith in God and my spiritual and practical gifts have helped me to find a purpose worth living for in a body and world that make it difficult. Because of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, I can solve all of the small inconveniences in front of me without understanding the…

Whenever the topic of accessibility comes up, you can bet there’ll be great passion. We all want the right to access and partake in everything beautiful in life, yet so much of the world is unreachable to those of us with disabilities.  In this column, I introduce my alter…

Living with Duchenne makes a lot of things difficult, including socializing with other people. Throughout my life, especially as the disease has progressed, it’s gotten harder to relate to people without physical disabilities. Even with the added difficulty, I’ve succeeded socially by carefully choosing the people I surround…

Come on! Is it essential to set goals in life? Do we need them? How can those of us who deal with a muscle-wasting illness push ourselves appropriately and live life to the fullest extent possible? I can tell you that it’s easy to fall into inaction if we…