Generations articles from August 1994

Generations archives from August 1994

A Thought For Today.
August 1, 1994... This is the beginning of a new day. I have been given this day to use as I will. I will use it for good, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that...

Recent Advances in Research.(ataxia research)
August 1, 1994... Certainly, the past year has been an exciting one for ataxia research. The new genetic technologies, in particular, have advanced our knowledge about many of these diseases to a remarkable degree. Friedreich's ataxia typically begins...

Cytokine expression in patients with inherited cerebellar ataxia.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Under normal physiological conditions the cytokins, interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) act like neuromodulators and growth factors in the central nervous system. But in conditions like neuronal degeneration, these cytokines...

Genica now offers diagnostic test.(for spinocellular ataxia type 1)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... With 33% of some eight million neurology patients annually going undiagnosed for lack of sophisticated tests, Genica Pharmaceuticals Corporation is filling a void for neurologists and helping them diagnose and manage some of the debilitating...

On learning I had a chronic illness.
August 1, 1994... My previous articles of living with a chronic illness were based primarily on the understandings I gained from the experiences many of you shared with me. In the next series of articles I'll share my experiences with you. I hope you gain as...

Sex and ataxia: a young person's guide.(disability and sex)
August 1, 1994... The following article is taken from a guide written specifically for young people with ataxia. Given the importance of sexuality in any individual's life, we think it is important for everyone who deals with ataxia in whatever way to be aware...

Studies of Friedreich Ataxia in the Acadian population.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Friedreich ataxia is a progressively degenerative disease of the central and peripheral nervous systems that causes great hardship for many families throughout the world. Our studies have concentrated on those of Acadian ancestry in...

Did you watch 20/20? "Awareness Big Time".(report on ataxia)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... We hope that many of you watched the "20/20" segment on hereditary ataxia which aired on May 6, 1994. This was public awareness, BIG TIME! We would have liked to have had the opportunity to tell all of you about the program and when it...

Resources for "Generations" readers.
August 1, 1994... Travel and recreation Don Kreb's "Access to Recreation" is a catalog featuring adaptive recreation equipment for the physically challenged. This unique catalog offers camera mounts, fishing aids, exercisers, and knitting aids to name a...

No Snow in Sacramento.(walking equipment for movement disorder patients)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... "We don't quite know how to tell you this, but there is no snow in Sacramento!" This is just one of many jesting comments we hear from those we meet on morning walks. We always attract attention because we use exerstriders on our morning...

I'd like a round trip ticket from NY to EPNSRLAP, please.
August 1, 1994... ... The original name of Los Angeles, incorporated in 1850, was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula -- translated -- The Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of "Little Portion." from Cleopatra's...

Ataxia humor.
August 1, 1994... Our granddaughter Amy calls all handicapped parking spaces, "Ataxia Parking Spaces". My granddaughter Amy and I were looking for a parking space at the mall when she commented that we can't park in the "Ataxia Parking Spaces" because...

Doing the Texas Two-Step.(physiological aspects of ataxia)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... One of the major characteristics of ataxia is stumbling and shuffling. Since I have ataxia, I stumble and shuffle a lot. When I decided to take some dance lessons to perhaps build my strength and coordination, we practiced the "Texas...

On the lighter side.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... My 10 year-old daughter and I were going down the cereal aisle of a local grocery store. I was in my new, lightweight wheelchair which I had recently gotten into so as to avoid falling down anymore. She was on foot. I had gotten ahead of her,...

If you can't spell it, how can you look it up?(spelling ability of Andrew Jackson)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Roughhewn Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, was a notoriously poor speller. Fending off complaints, he said that he had no respect for anyone who knew only one way to spell a word. from Cleopatra's Nose, by Jerome Agel & Walter...

MEDNET consumer prescription drug card available.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Members of the National Ataxia Foundation may take advantage of savings of up to 35 percent available on the purchases of drug by enrolling to receive a MEDNET Consumer Prescription DrugCard. The card is available to NAF members for only...

FSP Questions & Answers from Chantelle Wolpert, MS.
August 1, 1994... Question: What is FSP? Answer: Familial Spastic Paraplegia is an inherited disease of the nervous system. People with FSP have difficulty walking due to leg weakness and stiffness. Leg stiffness and weakness combines with seizures and...

A family letter and hope for the future.
August 1, 1994... There is hope for the future with diagnosing ataxia, and the next very important step, treating the disease. Within the last year, researchers have isolated the gene that causes one type of dominant ataxia. This is the first one uncovered so...

Professor Walk ... Thank You!
August 1, 1994... On Monday, October 4, 1993, at 12:02 AM, Mr. Anthony Thornton, AKA Professor Walk, began his own human endurance race to raise public awareness about hereditary ataxia. Professor Walk walked one mile per hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...

Omaha has first meeting.
August 1, 1994... The Omaha Ataxia Support Group -- Nebraska and surrounding areas has finally taken off! The first meeting was on April 23, 1994. Our speaker, Dr. John Aita, a noted neurologist explained the value of gene testing and the wide knowledge that...

News from Long Island.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... The Long Island Support Group of the National Ataxia Foundation was one year old this past March. The members of this group have been busy reaching out to each other and obtaining speakers to help them learn more about their conditions and...

Tampa Bay Area Support Group.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Last fall, two founders of our support group died. We miss Jim Becker and Neil Lang. We would like to thank two ladies, their wives, Ginny and Doris. We watched these caregivers love and look after their husbands till the end. They both...

Blessed are they ...
August 1, 1994... ... who have nothing to say and who cannot be persuaded to say it.

Louisiana Chapter Reports.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Our 4th annual picnic was a huge success, despite that afternoon thundershower! I say "huge" because of the number of people that attended, about 150. It looked like a mini-NAF convention! From as far away as Adalaide, Australia, Bronya...

Northern California group "rowing by leaps and bounds".(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... The Northern California Ataxia Support Group held its quarterly meeting on Saturday, June 25, 1994, at the Lafayette Park Hotel in Lafayette, California. This meeting was a spectacular success: 52 people attended this no-host luncheon...

Arkansas reports summer fun!!!(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... The Arkansas Chapter's July 16 "ALL DAY" pool party was small (Thanks to the crazy weather), but fun! Mr. Smiley Face was the first to greet everyone and set the happy tone for the day! We shared many coping ideas, important information and...

A Christmas Visitor.(story on animal behavior)(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... As usual, when my son came to Lafayette for Christmas, he left Claude, the Dog, with us, and took the grandchild to stay with his wife's mother. Of course we were disappointed, but we resolved to make the best of it. Our cat Ming, didn't...

Enjoy the teachers.
August 1, 1994... I have spent the entire thirteen years of my primary and secondary education in parochial schools. This is not a commentary on private Catholic schools because I know everyone feels differently about them. I just think it is important...

An overwhelming experience.
August 1, 1994... Unlike most people whom I have met with some kind of hereditary ataxia, I have had the experience of dealing with mine since birth. I don't remember everything, but every now and then my mom tells me another part of my past. Sometimes it...

Orphan Medical announces new mail order pharmacy.
August 1, 1994... Orphan Medical has introduced a specialized mail order pharmacy service for patients requiring hard-to-find medicines and those needing unique medicines seldom stocked by traditional pharmacies. Orphan Medical is a division of CHRONIMED...

Update: Gary Morris.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... Hello NAF Members, I hope everyone is doing fine. I'm looking forward to seeing some of you at my concerts or the NAF convention in March. I just returned from South Africa where I finished up this Fall's episodes of the "North American...

Memorials and in honor of.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1994... The National Ataxia Foundation is grateful to those who have made contributions in memory or in honor of their friends and families whose names are listed below. This list reflects contributions made from April 1, 1994 through June 30, 1994....

What it takes to be great.
August 1, 1994... "How majestic is naturalness. I have never met a man whom I really considered a great man who was not always natural and simple. Affectation is inevitably the mark of one not sure of himself.

ATAXIA.(Poem)
August 1, 1994... With his Rollator he walked with an unsteady gait. The restaurant was full, we would have to wait. People moved aside and tried not to stare. Someone got up and offered their chair. A small child asked, "Why the wheels to...

Thanksgiving Day.(Poem)
August 1, 1994... When the leaves fall from the trees, And the days turn crisp and cool; Thanksgiving is on the way, And turkey dinner is the rule. Turkey and stuffing, Cranberry sauce and yams; For dessert, pecan pie, ...

WAITING.(Poem)
August 1, 1994... Serene I fold my arms and wait, Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea: I rave no more `gainst time or fate, For lo! My own shall come to me. I stay my haste, I make delays, For what avails this eager pace? I...

The powder room.(Poem)
August 1, 1994... One time in Joseph, Oregon, I was at the rodeo, After I'd had a few beers I really had to go; I wasn't in a place where I could just go behind a tree, So I headed to where the bathrooms were--I really had...

Peter, Peter, the `Grits Eater'.
August 1, 1994... Peter Strong is a yankee from Conneticut, A yankee, born and bred is Peter Strong. Ever since he ate that bowl of delicious grits, He just can't seem to leave those grits alone! He talks about them on Prodigy, night...

The optimist ...
August 1, 1994... ... proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist fears this is true. I try to get a lot of exercise... ... but it's not always possible with my hectic sleeping schedule.

NAF Chapters and Support Groups.
August 1, 1994... This is a list of NAF chapters and support groups. The use of these names, addresses, and phone numbers for any purpose other than requesting information regarding NAF or joining a chapter or support group, is strictly prohibited. We...