Charcot Marie Tooth Disease

By this time I would be on the track getting my workout in to run the 300 hurdles. I was solid in that event, but the events I took the most pride in was the 400 and the 4 by 4. It had been a rough ending to basketball season but this would be the major turning point for me. I could make it all up by going to state. My track coach knew my coach from middle school so she has heard quite a bit about me. I never really had training or anything I just ran at first. I started to do summer training and ran with a local track team. Coach George wanted me to run the 200. It was new to me so we trained in the mornings before school. She bought in the assistant coach and he had me and few more girls lined up on the track. He wanted us to stand side by side and sprint out and merge into lane one. It was kind of crazy because we were all kind of jumbled up together. The first time as I merged into lane one my legs tripped another girl and she fell so I felt bad. So the third time I tried to make sure I didn't trip anyone up because my legs were so long. I dodge tripping the same girl but I almost hit another. By the fourth time I was really just over it, I jerked my body one way and my hip went the other. I ended up limping to the finish line. I thought it was just a little kink and I could just pop it out. I was completely wrong. It was way worse than the ankle injury. I guess it was a sign from good telling me to

Then one year later when I went in the hospital for them to see how I was doing Eve said the MS was active (meaning that the medicine is failing). I finally thought I was going to have an easy life with it but I was totally wrong. All the fear, anger, sadness boiled up in me.

One obstacle I have faced, and will continue to face, revolves around my feet. When I was born, the doctor immediately informed my mother that I was happy and healthy, however, my feet happened to be upside down and backwards. In the next few weeks, my parents met with scores of doctors to learn about my condition, know as bilateral Clubfoot. The most notable of these doctors was Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, arguably the most learned doctor in the field of Clubfoot, who said to my mother: “my best advice would be to prepare him for a desk job”. Since my birth, I have had two sets of surgeries on my feet, have had casts on both legs for years, and was in a wheelchair for almost a year at the age of five. The innumerable challenges posed by my disorder

If untreated, causes weaker muscles, loss of sensation, difficulty in walking and breathing, and more

My ankle still gives me problems today and I still wear a brace most of the time. I can now lie my leg even with my ankle because of it and most people think it’s gross, but I think it’s

For my entire life, I have been bombarded with the “normal” people trying to poke fun as if it was some kind of abnormality. So many people have said comments like, “What’s wrong with your arm?” and “Why are you walking funny?” Ooh, if I had a nickel. But do I ever get hurt by the array of mean comments or obtrusive inquiries? No, I do not. This “abnormality” has brought blessings on to my life, it has left me with an outlook that is both positive and open-minded. I do not respond to these people negatively or even self-righteously with retorts of “how they don’t have anything better to do with their lives than to comment on my condition”, but I say to them with respect and maybe a little snarkiness, “Well, I guess I am who I am.” Ultimately, please do not judge me upon how life has made me but upon how I have handled

Orphan diseases are rare diseases that affect less than 200,00 people nationwide. Due to the fact that they are not commonly found, they are are often overshadowed by more prevalent diseases, such as malaria or hepatitis. Therefore, this is often not enough government funding needed to research these diseases. Charcot Marie Tooth Disease (CMT) is one of the most common, yet unknown, rare neurological disorders. This disease mainly affects the nervous systems, often impairing motor skills and causing the decaying of muscles in the arms and legs. Charcot Marie Tooth Disease was first discovered in the early 1900s by Professor Jean Martin Charcot and Pierre Marie of France, and Henry Howard Tooth of England (Muscular Dystrophy Association). There

When my mother first got her diagnosis, the words were difficult to comprehend and it was difficult to deal with the repercussions of her diagnosis. Since the disease effects the nervous system, my mother could not do all of the tasks that she was once able to do.  Becasue

Charcot-Marie-Tooth is not a dental problem. The name may sound funny, yet the disease is anything

While out in public people constantly look at me and whisper about my size at times. I am only four foot two inches which is close to average for women with achondroplasia but as a child I was even tinier. Most children did not see a difference between me and any other child until I was in fourth grade. I was constantly bullied due to my height and abnormal head. I was unable to overcome the bullying causing my parents to pull me out of public school and enroll me in online classes by fifth grade. I fell into depression and missed the small group of friends I had developed. My mother would give me daily pep talks which helped boost my confidence as well as made sure I was treated as an equal and never make it known that I was different. My sister also helped me overcome depression by spending a lot of time with me and assisting me when doing chores and other daily activities; I never let her do anything for me though. I only let her help because I felt that I could still live like a normal sized person despite being small and wanted to show everyone I was capable of doing tasks big or small on my own. I have been able to establish a close knit group of friends that have been there for me for many years already. I am currently in high school, attending a public school, where I am accepted by many other teens and enjoy all my classes and being in a social

When I was in the first grade I broke my wrist and had a cast put on, but then I never noticed the limitations it provided me with. However, this week while wearing this wrist cock up

An unseen assailant attacks approximately 1 in 2,500 individuals worldwide. Many of these people are unaware they are ever afflicted. This attacker is not contagious, but genetic. It is passed from parents to offspring. This assailant, known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), comes in many forms and levels of severity. CMT causes a deterioration of the nervous system in its victims. The effects range from unnoticed mild pain to placing its victims in wheelchairs. CMT’s widespread prevalence and its possible links to other diseases such as alzheimer’s, type 1 diabetes, and cancer, should be cause enough to continue funding research and treatments for this disorder.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth also known as CMT is a disorders that damage the nerves in the arms and legs.

Unfathomable diseases that immobilize one’s body, but leave the brain to function properly or even uncontrollable shaking are the reason many have begun to question how these diseases are formed. Many view sports from only the outside on a screen but do not realize the dangers and risks of playing sports and being able to entertain millions of viewers and that they possess a monumental role in the obtainment of these diseases There are diseases such as ALS that cause immobility and impaired speech while leaving the victim's brain to understand the horrible trance the body is in. Another disease that is similar is CTE which has drastic side effects to the brain and body and can lead to other diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dementia. There

I have never felt so vulnerable. I could feel the pain shoot through my leg! My heart sank. I have this feeling once every other week and I can’t do anything to prevent it. My life has been a rollercoaster ride and I haven't been able to get off. As a young boy I was diagnosed with juvenile spondyloarthritis, a genetic disorder that involves joints along the spine as well as hips, shoulders, knees, ankles, and in my case, eyes. Never in a million years would I have known how beneficial my disorder could be to shaping me into the respected man that I am today. I always try to look at things with optimism but deep down I truly was nervous and fearful for my future. My experience with iritis has truly assured me that nothing will hold me back from achieving my goals. Part of my