Getting Out of My Comfort Zone
I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia in May of 2016 after a five month period of uncertainty. I went through a period of time where I didn’t want anyone to know what I was facing. I was embarrassed of myself because I thought that the diagnosis made me inferior. Several months after my diagnosis, my parents were introduced to FARA (Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance). They told me that there was this whole community out there that I could be in touch with that had the same struggles as me.
It took me several more months to become comfortable with what I was facing. I remember having a moment with myself and saying “This is what you’ve been handed and you can do so much good if you just put it out there.” And before I could talk myself out of it, I did. I signed up for rideATAXIA Dallas and opened social media accounts to follow my FA journey. Pretty much overnight, everyone knew what my family and I were facing. My team, Kate’s Krewe, raised $28,000 for FARA in less than four months. Even after the ride, I knew that I had the potential to do so much for the FA community and even the disabled community.
I continued to post my “FA life” on my social media accounts and raised awareness for the condition as much as I could. I held a screening of the movie "The Ataxian" and raised $6,000 for FARA. Then, I was asked to be on a patient panel at the USF FA symposium. There, I was graced with Michael’s presence. :) A few weeks before this panel, I created my own website (www.makeithappencurefa.com) where I posted information about FA and my personal experience.
I am now fundraising for rideATAXIA Dallas once again. I speak at meetings, do interviews on the radio, and hold small fundraisers. I actually started a YouTube channel (which is way out of my comfort zone!) to empower people with disabilities. I saw a quote a few days ago that said, “get out of your own way.” I think that this quote is relevant because I spent a long time telling myself that my life could not be what I wanted it to be and people were going to judge me because of it. This is not even a little bit true. I have learned that I can do anything that I set my mind to (which is a cliche, but it is true). I just have to step out of my comfort zone a little (or a lot!!)
