Customer Reviews

Ten Years to Live

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This is such a good book. It is a must read-especially for a person, like me, who has Cerebellar Ataxia.

This book chronicals the lives of the Schut family from 1908-1972. This family had (has) hereditary Cerebellar Ataxia. It shows the struggle that each person had with the possibilty of showing symptoms of the disease and the anguish of watching relatives die of complications of Ataxia. This large family faced fear and grief, but always carried hope for a cure in the future.

Their pain and anguish created the search for a cure. Various members of the family participated in research studies. In 1957, THE NATIONAL ATAXIA FOUNDATION (see website for current contact information), a non-profit organization, was founded. These were some of the individuals that began the search for a cure.

The charts in the appendix provide further explaination of the text. The geneological charts were so interesting-so full of data. The handwriting smaple on the last page looks so similar to my own writing. Those pages received a lot of attention.

With all the knowledge that has been gained over the years we are closer. Medications and supplements can and do alleviate (take my word for it) some of the symptoms of Ataxia.

I am the author of Dreams in August: Life, Love, and Cerebellar Ataxia

This is an incredible journey by a man who's family is afflicted by a dominant form of a rare neurological disorder called Marie's Ataxia. My incredible wife is afflicted with Friedreich's Ataxia, which is recessive (both parents must have it) and it really brings to light a lot of the social stigmas, the problems she has and will face, and the issues that complicate the search for a cure. The Author is a co-founder of the NAF, which is the one constant my wife and others like her have to hold on to. It's not a book about a disease, it's a book about those afflicted with one. It takes you through the trials, tribulations and tragedy of those near and dear to the Author's heart. A must read!