Rob Stemple is a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. He was diagnosed with FSHD in 1971 at age 14. Rob struggled with its’ affects for over 50 years. He lost his eyesight in a devastating crash with a drunk driver. Rob has been a special education teacher, director of a nonprofit organization serving the blind and a newspaper columnist. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Wendy, where they both enjoy hanging out with their kids and grandkids. Rob is a musician, composer, and recording artist. His theory of life is, “Do the best you can with what you’ve got to work with!”
Back in the 1980s, as a high school special education teacher, I enjoyed giving my students an assignment at the start of the school year to see if they could follow directions. I told them to read the document…
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Those who read my columns regularly will know that my last one was written just after my wife, Wendy, and my daughter, Jill, took off for a vacation in Croatia, Greece, and Slovenia. Over their two-week trip, we…
It’s been about an hour since the garage door closed and my wife, Wendy, and daughter, Jill, set off on what I hope will be an incredible adventure. They’re headed on a 15-day vacation to Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece,…
Every day is different with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). As I wrote in a previous column, managing the condition is a balancing act. If I do too much, I’ll pay for it later. While some days are…
I recently talked with a friend about body language and facial expressions. She’d attended a public hearing where she ended up sitting just behind the main speaker. As the hearing progressed, she became certain she’d be seen on Zoom.
I was blessed to be able to provide music for the annual gathering of the United Church of Christ’s Penn West Conference earlier this month. Everything went well. My wife, Wendy, had plenty of help moving my equipment…
If you’ve been reading my column since I started writing for Muscular Dystrophy News Today, you know I recently moved to Pittsburgh from Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Over the past few years, as my facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)…
Years of living with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) have taught me that it’s a balancing act on a high wire. It’s an everyday challenge to keep from falling off one way or another. Overdo it and…
It happened two weeks ago. Then it happened again yesterday. Is this my new normal? If so, what to do? Should I laugh? Should I cry? Is a little spilled milk worth getting upset? I’m an early riser, getting…
Each of us dealing with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is on a slightly different trajectory. For some, the disease is a series of small losses that level out to a period of relative stability. For others, the disease…
I was raised to put my best foot forward, keep a stiff upper lip, and always keep going. My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those…
Having just moved to Pittsburgh from rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania, one of the many things I had to attend to was finding a new primary care physician. Back in Somerset, there weren’t many choices. Around 2003, I started…
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