We live in an age of rumors and widespread gossip. Many people seem to be mudslinging, and we’re all covered in it. Gossip didn’t start with the rise of social media, which is just a new medium through which it can slowly drip into our…
Soaring With Hope — Ari Anderson
Ari Anderson resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was diagnosed with SMA type I at 6 months old in 1982. At the time, the prognosis was almost hopeless. Today’s medical therapies have changed the prognosis to hopeful. Yet, the rest of society has a long way to catch up in how they see people with SMA. Through his column, “Soaring With Hope,” Ari shares how he changes views through advocacy, innovative technology, and determination. He inspires hope by helping others rise above their hardships. No matter who you are, through his conversational style of writing, you may find that you have experienced the same feelings and emotions throughout your life as Ari has!
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When my great-aunt was 100, she used to sing a song that said “count your many blessings.” As I approach another birthday and complete another year on my journey with SMA, I’m counting my blessings one by one. I’ve had plenty of crises — or as I call them,…
In my previous column, I shared how sometimes our advocates come from the unlikeliest of places. Yes, even politicians, who some believe are the embodiment of greed and corruption, can make an enormous difference in our lives. The mystery senator I spoke of…
It can be annoying when you receive devastating news, and someone naively says, “When one door closes, another one opens!” As someone who has received plenty of bad news, there is some truth to this statement, no matter how cliché it sounds. In the ’90s, I received the devastating news…
To those feeling too rare on Rare Disease Day (Feb. 28) let the following empower you. The saying “hidden in plain sight” can take on a new meaning when you have a rare disease. I’m rare because I have a huge wheelchair and tracheostomy, but that doesn’t mean I’m…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could easily put into practice the lessons we learned growing up? We were taught to think about the effects of our decisions, but sometimes it is difficult to know how our actions may affect the lives of other people. For those of us with…
To make my sometimes hazardous life with SMA less scary and more exciting, I tend to think of myself as a pioneer. As my previous column noted, I carry a lot of “baggage,” or experiences, during my travels. In 1803, as PBS noted, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned…
Doesn’t it feel like we all carry a lot of baggage in life? If we could just forget about all the negatives, we could live on cloud nine. What if I told you that we would be permanently stuck on ground level, going nowhere in life, without all the heavy…
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