Name: Alicia Aragon Cabanas
Age: 46
Where do you call home? Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), Spain
Education/Career: Diploma in Social Work. Right now with the current situation we are living in, what you least think about is looking for work.
How long have you known you are living with FA? Everything started when I was 13 years old when my mother took me to the doctor because she compared me with my sisters and she noticed something strange; I fell a lot, I had difficulty walking in the dark, etc. I was referred to a doctor in Madrid who diagnosed me with FA.
Are there any others with FA in your family? There is no one as far as we know. In fact, we studied and no one with FA appeared in my family tree.
What is a typical day for you? I get up at 10/10:30 or so, have breakfast, take a shower, and get ready. I go for a walk until 13:30 or so and that’s when I get back to my house and put my pajamas on. Then, I use the afternoon to entertain myself by surfing on the Internet and watching TV.
Describe your transition from walking to walker/wheelchair. I went directly to use the wheelchair because I tried to live a normal life until I was 25. I did not know how to use crutches because when I was little, I would fall with crutches. I was a dizzy duck who did not know how to use them and in my time walkers were not so useful and fashionable like now.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests? I like to surf the internet and watch TV.
When FA gets you down, what do you do do/think to feel better? This is a challenge. When I see everything very black, I get even more depressed.
What is the best advice YOU could give to a person who has been recently diagnosed with FA? Live your life in the present and don’t think about the future.
What is the first thing you want to do when a cure/treatment for FA is found? Walk and be able to go out alone.
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