9781422280393

Chapter One

What Is a Neuromuscular Disorder? D an is a busy young man. He operates an upbeat website and blog, sharing his life with others and encouraging others to live their own lives fully. He drives a wheelchair-accessible truck, lives and travels independently, and plays professional wheelchair tennis. Dan was diagnosed at age 13 with a form of muscular dystrophy (MD). Since then, he has found ways of doing as many of the things he has wanted to do in life as possible, in spite of his challenging diagnosis. You can find out more about Dan and his busy life at musculardystrophybook.com. Before Dan’s diagnosis, his life was very different. He didn’t think much about whether he’d be able to move his fingers to button his shirt. He wasn’t worried about keeping his shoulders, head, or feet from moving when he wanted them to be still. And playing tennis and basketball were not problems for him, either. One day, however, his life began to change, as his muscles began to grow weaker and harder to control.

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