Cody stark joined Kyle Bryant, a local hero and founder of Ride Ataxia, who teamed with barefoot winery for a special wine.
News & Press Releases
Here you will find the most recent organizational news from FARA, including information on events, and awareness and advocacy initiatives. To locate an article from a certain date, please use the archives on the right side of your screen.
Kyle Bryant From Ride Ataxia
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Friedreich's Ataxia Awareness Day is Saturday, May 18th 2013
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Swimming for a cause, swimming for family
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Kristin Jones has always been able to control the pool.
She has command of her splits, her training, her diet and just about every aspect of the sport.
In high school she seemingly manipulated each ripple of water in pools around Southeast and the state as she racked up titles and championships.
As a youth in the Gastineau Swim Club there was a love and passion for the water that made her a joy to be around.
What Kristin Jones cannot control is the reason she will swim around Key West, Fla., on June 8, in a 13-mile race called The Swim Around Key West.
Jones was born with a 25 percent chance of having Friedreich’s ataxia, a genetic disorder that has confined her older brother, Ryan, 25, and younger brother Owen, 19, to wheelchairs with severe debilitating disabilities.
Sam Bridgman Stands From Wheelchair, Walks Across Stage At College Graduation
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"Impossible is nothing" is Sam Bridgman's life motto -- a maxim the young man embodied this week when he walked across the stage to receive his college diploma.
Bridgman has Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a rare degenerative neuromuscular disorder that has, in recent years, left him reliant on a motorized wheelchair.
But as his graduation from the University of Portland approached, the 21-year-old was determined to walk on his own two feet during the ceremony.
According to a 2012 report in the Oregonian, Bridgman has been working regularly with the university's athletic trainers to keep his legs active.
"Cause I don't get to walk anymore, it gives me the ability to feel like I'm walking," Bridgman said of the exercises at the time.
On May 5, the years of continued effort paid off. Flanked and aided by two trainers, Bridgman -- a tireless advocate for FA awareness and research -- stood up from his wheelchair and walked to and across the stage, accepting his diploma with a huge smile stretched across his face.
Read More: Sam Bridgman Stands From Wheelchair, Walks Across Stage At College Graduation
- Join Us in "A New FA" Initiative for FA Awareness Day
- Fundraising for Friedreich’s Ataxia: Concert for a Cure was a Huge Success
- Rochester Undergrads Raise $20K for Rare Disease Research
- Race for Christina Will Support Friedreich's Ataxia Research
- Glen Burnie woman rides through adversity to strength