Zack Anderson's Fundraiser
Walker’s 5k!
We are strong, we are brave, we need this 5K!
Rachel Grundy
"Go Walker Go! "
$200
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Tony and Yolanda Mercadal
"Walker is our little hero! ❤️ "
$100
Ed Petersen
"Cure HSP SPG4 "
$100
Tai Yin
I donated in support of this campaign.
$100
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Zack Anderson
I donated in support of this campaign.
$50
My wife Sami and I have a little HSP WARRIOR named Walker. His battle is one that he has dealt with since birth. He knows no different. He has never known what it is like to walk without spasticity, something I took for granted.
Some developmental delays seemed strange as he developed in his first years of life, but nothing seemed major until he started walking. Because of his abnormal gate we took the doctors advice and started some testing. An early diagnosis of cerebral palsy was changed months later to hereditary spastic paraplegia. After a call with a genetic counselor, we learned he will live life a little differently.
life is full of surprises and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia has been one of them. The mutation in the spast gene gave us an SPG-4 diagnosis. This disease can look very different depending on the mutation. SPG-4 is a pure form of HSP and with that comes less severe symptoms then some other types. For that we are incredibly grateful because Walker is a very happy boy and capable kid !
Unlike others with this condition, he can not only still walk, but he is learning to climb stairs with no hands, playing soccer, tackling obstacles in the gym, running on the beach and living his best life! He may look a little different doing these things, but he does his best and he amazes us all the time!
We don’t know when or how all of this will change, but overtime it will. that is something we have to mentally prepare for. As a parent and as a child, the progression can be mentally taxing.
Sometimes all of this feels stressful and other times life feels incredible. We are on a lifelong roller coaster that has us dreaming about the possibility that walking is no longer difficult, balance is not compromised, injuries are no longer a daily scare, surgeries are not needed, and pain is tolerable.
Life is full of surprises so surprise us and join us in our 5K! Please help us raise awareness/finances for HSP to halt symptoms, discover a cure, and create a better life for those in desperate need. Just a small donation will go a long way to helping us meet our goal for Spastic Paraplegia Foundation, Inc.