Columns

With seven children — Lexi, 25; Max, 20; Chance, 19; Rowen, 17; Charlie, 15; Mary, 11; and Callie, 4; three of whom have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) — I have entered the zone of a veteran parent and caregiver. Max, Rowen, and Charlie were diagnosed with DMD in…

On April 25, 2016, my son Billy stood at a podium in a hotel ballroom outside Washington, D.C., and told a room full of advisers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) something no 15-year-old should have to say out loud. “FDA, please don’t let me die early,” he…

The house is quiet this morning. A dog sleeps next to me on the couch as I contemplate the words I will use to write this column. The news is on, so there is some background noise, and I can faintly hear a video game playing in my son’s…

I stepped back onto the medical treadmill this year to determine if the pain in my right shoulder and elbow, as well as the weakness and stiffness in my right arm and hand, were the result of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). I was hoping it was something else, something…

In the spring of 1986, my doctor told my parents and me that one of the standard prescribed treatments for muscular dystrophy was splints, which I would wear on my legs to keep my heel cords loose and limber. The doctors wanted my ankles to reach a 90-degree bend,…

The week before school started was pure chaos. We had only been home from vacation long enough to unpack and start the laundry before we had to go to open houses on Monday at two of the kids’ schools,  and then close on our new house. If that…

Last year, our family’s wheelchair-accessible van broke down due to a fault in its hydraulic ramp. From March to May 2025, my caregiver and I had no choice but to take the bus to my office. It was the first time I’d used public transportation in a decade. Back then,…

My family recently spent a week in Indiana with friends at a cabin on a lake, and it was so good for us. Our two families met more than a decade ago when our sons were all little boys, and we have remained friends throughout our separate journeys with…

My regular readers know I’ve been losing function in my right arm, making many activities of daily living challenging. The pain, weakness, and stiffness I experience when I try to do anything with that arm began suddenly and has progressed rapidly this year. I’m now experiencing similar symptoms in my…

Shortly after being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 1985, I returned to the hospital for a checkup and to review my treatment plan. I thought the doctors might tell me to eat an apple, take some aspirin, and rest up. I was 12 years old, so what did I…