Another RideATAXIA is in the books for Team Kendall – and what a fun event it was! We had a great turn-out at the ride and made a lot of new friends in the FA community. RideATAXIA has become very important to me, personally, because it is a good avenue to channel my energy when Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) is on my mind. It gives me such hope that there is a huge, nation-wide effort to raise awareness and funds to help find a cure for FA! Last year, FA was still new to my family
I am sure you have noticed that a lot of my pictures for RideATAXIA are of me on a recumbent trike. Wonder why? Well the answer is quite simple – because I have Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). Most FA patients experience a lack of coordination that makes balancing difficult. In fact, my thrown-off balance is what made me visit a neurologist in the first place. My legs just didn’t cooperate like they used to and I was tripping and stumbling a lot more than I had a few years ago. Whe
When you donate to Team Kendall or sponsor any Team Kendall riders in RideATAXIA, 100% of your donations go straight to the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). FARA is a national, public, 501(c)(3), non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to curing Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) through research. FARA grants and activities provide support for basic and translational FA research, pharmaceutical/ biotech drug development, clinical trials, and scientific conferences. F
Initiated in 2007, Ride Ataxia has raised invaluable awareness for Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) and over $3 million in support of FA research grants in just 8 short years! Functioning as a program of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), Ride Ataxia offers challenging and family fun bike rides at locations all across the USA. Ride Ataxia started as a crazy idea that is now empowering thousands and changing the outlook on research for a rare, life-shortening disease. I
What a difference a year makes! On August 19, 2013, I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). At the time, I knew nothing of the disease except that it was serious and currently had no cure. I felt so hopeless and afraid because I didn’t know any better. When I first learned that I had FA, I thought that my life was over. All I remember from those first few days after the diagnosis was the scary information I read on the internet which was full of bleak information and o
The Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), just released the new summer edition of the FARA newsletter- The Advocate! I recently had the honor and pleasure of speaking with Kyle Bryant, the Founder & Director of Ride Ataxia. Ride Ataxia is a fundraising program of FARA. We discussed Team Kendall’s first appearance in the 2014 Ride Ataxia Dallas for the newsletter! You can see the write up on page 9. There is also a lot of great information about what is going on in the
Team Kendall participated in our very first Ride Ataxia on March 29, 2014. All I can say is WOW! What an amazing day. I wanted to get involved in Ride Ataxia because I have always been a very active individual and this was an event that I could participate in alongside my friends, family and fellow FA community. I was beyond blessed to have an incredible network of friends and family who kept asking “what can I do to help?” The ride was a great answer! I told everyone I knew
Initiated by Kyle Bryant in 2007, Ride Ataxia has raised invaluable awareness for Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) and over $ 2.5 million in support of FA research grants in just 7 short years. Bryant’s inspiration spurs from his diagnosis at age 17 and the discovery that he could travel long distances under his own power on a recumbent tricycle. Fueled by the passion to do more for himself and the FA community, Bryant and his family completed a 2,500 mile bike ride from San Diego to