About Me

A friend recommended that I tell a little bit about myself on this blog as well. Although it doesn’t define every aspect of my life one thing that makes my art more difficult is the fact that I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The following is some information about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy from the Muscular Dystrophy Association website:

“What is Duchenne muscular dystrophy?

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. It is one of nine types of muscular dystrophy.

DMD is caused by an absence of dystrophin, a protein that helps keep muscle cells intact. Symptom onset is in early childhood, usually between ages 3 and 5. The disease primarily affects boys, but in rare cases it can affect girls.

What are the symptoms of DMD?

Muscle weakness can begin as early as age 3, first affecting the muscles of the hips, pelvic area, thighs and shoulders, and later the skeletal (voluntary) muscles in the arms, legs and trunk. The calves often are enlarged. By the early teens, the heart and respiratory muscles also are affected.”

If you want to know more about Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases go to the MDA webpage click on the following link: https://www.mda.org/disease/duchenne-muscular-dystrophy

I used to be able to walk and do more things. I now can wiggle my legs and feet and move my hands a small amount, which allows me to continue doing my art work. For this reason, I used to paint and use pastels and other mediums as well as colored pencils. It got too hard to use these other mediums because they require more movement. Colored pencil is one of my favorites anyways though. I also use a ventilator with a straw as I can’t take a deep enough breath on my own. Fortunately, I’ve been able to do a lot great things in my life. Some of my art work comes from pictures that have been taken on many fun family vacations. I also was able to attend Pacific Lutheran University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in Spanish.