This story really hits home here at the American Bald Eagle Foundation Eva Mathews was one our first student Interns when we got live Raptors at the ABEF four years ago. Eva came to us from Auburn University and we are so saddened yet proud of how she is handling her accident handling an Eagle. Eagle Girl Raising Awareness https://facebook/profile.php?id=7029092&fref=ts My Story: Hi, my name is Eva Mathews and on February 24, 2014 my life was forever changed. Before the accident I had never even had a broken bone and the only surgery I ever had was to have my wisdom teeth removed. I never knew how much I took my health for granted until I was hurt. I use to be fearless, well I’m not sure if that is totally correct but I wasn’t afraid to do things that scared me. I’ve white water rafted, skydived, shark cage dived, and climb mountains in Alaska. My biggest love of all was working with raptors. As a student at Auburn University I started volunteering at the raptor center. Words cannot say how awesome it is to walk around at a home game holding an eagle and having 87,000+ people cheering you on. After volunteering for 3 years I started working full time at the raptor center when I graduated in 2010. I loved my job; I mean how many people can say they get to work with Eagles, Falcons, and Hawks for a living. On 2/24/14 everything changed while I was out in an aviary one of the birds hit me in the head at full speed. After the accident I went to a local neurologist who diagnosed me with a concussion and whiplash. I started physical therapy but I was still having a lot of problems so I was referred to The Kirklin Clinic at UAB in June. Words cannot say how grateful I am to UAB because after months of not knowing what was going on I was diagnosed with ST Dystonia and traumatic brain injury due to the trauma of the impact of the bird hitting me. Living with Dystonia has not been easy for me. I’ve went from living on my own to moving in with my mom so she could help take care of me. Every day can be a challenge, even something as simple as skipping took me about a month at physical therapy to concur. I’m am so thankful for the Disney races because Ive found that most of the people there are running for a reason and it’s so encouraging to meet people that are overcoming the odds. My Goal: Is to bring awareness to the public about movement disorders and to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Even though Dystonia is different than Parkinson’s they share common forms of treatment. Part of the medicine I’m on is to help me with the spasms is a Parkinson medicine. I fully believe that the more research that is done on Parkinsons will in turn help people like me with Dystonia. I hope by being in the Dopey Challenge I can encourage people with any chronic illness to not give up on their dreams. I know for me Amy Van Dyken has been such an inspiration. Her positivity and not willing to give up has helped me so much. I feel the same way about Michel J. Fox the way he is so open about Parkinson’s has helped me. Because at first I was very ashamed of my diagnosis and I didn’t want anybody to know or see me. As time went by I realized I can’t live my life in hiding and my motto is: “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.” Five million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease — a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder. In the United States, 60,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease. But through your support of Team Fox, you can help change this. About Team Fox Team Fox is The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s (MJFF) grassroots community fundraising program. Its members include thousands of people worldwide who generate funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease research. All funds raised through Team Fox go directly to MJFF to advance its mission to accelerate the delivery of life-changing treatments, and ultimately a cure, to people with Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, thanks to the generous support of an anonymous donor, 100% of Team Fox proceeds in 2014 will go directly to research efforts to help speed a cure for Parkinsons. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is honored by your support. Since 2001, the Foundation has maintained an uncompromising pace — strategically targeting our resources to achieve maximum impact on patients’ lives, funding work on over 100 therapeutic targets to the tune of more than $450 million to date. MJFF also understands that patients are the key to a cure and is actively engaged with the PD community. To help connect patients and their loved ones with the clinical trials that urgently need their participation, the Foundation created a Web tool, Fox Trial Finder (foxtrialfinder.org). Whether you have PD or not, you can play a critical role in moving research forward Your timing to step up for Team Fox couldn’t be better. Be a part of the answer and help us speed a cure for Parkinsons today!
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 03:41:34 +0000
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