Denise Keyser said she had no clue what ataxia was when first diagnosed with the disease by her neurosurgeon.
I had no idea what he was talking about, the Midland resident said. Until I started trying to walk, and I would randomly fall.
Ataxia.org says ataxia is a group of degenerative diseases connected with the nervous system, the hereditary and sporadic ataxias, which cause a lack of coordination that can affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech and eye movements.
Keyser was diagnosed after she went through brain stem surgery in May 2011. On Saturday, she will be walking in the Detroit Walk and Roll with her husband and daughter to help raise awareness about ataxia.
Ataxia can affect anyone at any time, said Michael Parent, the executive director of the National Ataxia Foundation in a news release. Many times people do not know that they carry an ataxia gene until they have children displaying signs of ataxia.
There are about 150,000 people in the United States who are diagnosed with ataxia, and to help spread the word about the disease and find a cure, an annual International Ataxia Awareness Day was created by the National Ataxia Foundation in conjunction with several other organizations. The 13th year of awareness will be recognized on Sept. 25.
Keyser said it took her a while to feel comfortable sharing her story.
Three months ago I kind of came out of my fog, she said. I decided that Im stuck with this, so I may as well do something about it.
Keyser recently spoke to a class of psychology students at Central Michigan University about ataxia, and said being involved with distributing information is something she hopes to keep doing.
I thought, Theres a reason for this happening to me, Keyser said. Now Im starting to let people know about it.
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Midlander helps spread awareness about ataxia at Detroit Walk and Roll
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