Celebrating Moms

Priscilla’s heartless dedication to her children and grandchildren, and her true example of selfless, unconditional love for her husband of 50 years is what makes her special, according to her daughter, Laurie. 

For 10 years, while her father was fighting complications due to his FSHD (he recently passed in October), her mother was by his side—taking his wheelchair out, pushing him to his spot at the LSU games, helping him live life to his fullest, even as his disease progressed. He called her his Angel, but Laurie says she is truly a gift to the whole family! When Priscilla became the caretaker for her husband, she selflessly adjusted, trying to keep their life as normal as possible, and though difficult, she continued to keep a positive outlook. 

Although Priscilla and Laurie are 5 hours away from each other, which is difficult, they talk every day and keep in touch. Happy Mother’s Day, Priscilla! 

Meridee is always finding ways to take care of her family, making sure that everyone has what they need when they need it and that they feel included and loved regardless of their circumstances, all while rarely thinking of herself, according to her daughter-in-law, Allison.

FSHD has affected Meridee’s entire life—from being raised by her father (now 93) who is quite affected by FSHD and for whom she is now the primary caretaker to, to taking care of her children who have FSHD, while managing the challenges and pain from her own diagnosis. Becoming the caretaker for her father long before she would have if he had not been affected by FSHD has been a very interesting role of “mother” in her life. 

Meridee has never allowed her diagnosis to set her back, continuing to take care of her parents and her children and grandchildren without missing a beat. Happy Mother’s Day, Meridee! 

Christine was a super mom even before anyone used that term, according to her daughter, Jennifer. Christine took care of her family while working full-time as an operating room nurse and took care of her husband when he was diagnosed with ALS. Though her plate was full, she still had time to cook, knit, cross stitch and quilt. She loves to travel, especially those back roads just to find out where they lead.

Christine was diagnosed in her 30’s with FSHD when she realized she could no longer run, and because it was a very slow progression it didn’t seem to her family that she was greatly impacted. Today, at 88, she is still walking with a walker.

Jennifer says that she could never do as much for her mom as she has done for her and is truly blessed to call her “Mom” because she taught her to just keep going, do what you love and be there for family. Happy Mother’s Day, Christine! 

Described as a “dynamo” by her son, Jack, Marian Martino is an 85-year-old mother of 3 and grandmother of 5 who may have FSHD, but it does not have her. Marian attends water aerobics twice a week, volunteers at the American Cancer Society once a week, lives alone taking care of her 2,000 square foot house using her reliable 3-wheeled walker, “Zippy,”and still cooks all her meals—including her famous pasta—daily!

Jack chose to honor his mother because he is in awe of her resiliency and determination. As her symptoms progressed and she had to slow down, she never complained. Her work ethic has rubbed off on her family, and though she probably does not realize this, they all feel that they are better people for knowing her, for loving her and for having her in their lives. Happy Mother’s Day, Marian! 

Diane has recently started sharing her struggles with FSHD, more than she used to, and to her daughter, Lexi, it is inspiring! She looks up to her mom because she is resilient, taking a bad situation in life and making it into a business, and because she is such a strong person—and the reason Lexi is strong as well!  

Though it has been harder for Diane to do the things she has always loved, like traveling and going out to dinner with Lexi, they always have fun together no matter what they are doing. 

Diane will not let FSHD stop her from continuing to do the things she loves most in life, even if that means that she must alter the way she does them! Happy Mother’s Day, Diane!