Name: Olivia Ramazio
Age: 21
Where do you call home? Florida
Education/Career: I have an Associates degree in arts and I am currently getting my Bachelor’s degree in psychology. I believe that my FA will not affect my future career.
Who do you live with? My parents.
How long have you known you are living with FA? I have known since age 6 that something was wrong with me and it was getting worse as I was getting older. When I was 15, I lost my balance and got a severe concussion. When I had to see a neurologist, they saw I walked weird so they ran a genetics screening. Soon after, I was diagnosed with FA.
Are there any others with FA in your family? No other person.
Describe an adaptation and/or transition you have had to take due to living with FA. I use a walking stick most of the time, but when I am at places like an university, I use a scooter to get around.
What do you like to do to stay active and what type of exercises work for you to stay strong? I have a personal trainer that has a degree in PT, and I go to the gym with her several times a week. She makes me do a range of exercises, mainly with weights. I do hip abductions and adductions, delts, 2 forms of chess press, weighted squats, treadmill, triceps, lat pull downs, rowing, leg extension & curls, etc.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests? I love animals and I raise ducks. I also play piano.
What is one way living with FA has POSITIVELY affected your life? I watch things to make me laugh or I will do schoolwork so I don’t think about it.
What is a favorite motivational quote of yours? “Feel confident in the skin you are in.”
What piece of advice that someone with FA has given you that encourages and inspires you? FA does not determine who you are, it is just apart of you that makes you EXTRA unique.
What is the best advice YOU could give to a person who has been newly diagnosed with FA? You are never alone! (I thought I was for several years)
What is the first thing you want to do when a cure/treatment to FA is found? Run and dance again.
“I have FA but FA doesn’t have me.” What does this statement mean to you? How do you live your life in the face of adversity? This quote goes through my mind every so often when I feel like my FA is getting worse to make me feel better and to remind me that FA does not have me. I live with it the way I do because I realized it could always be worse.
Interview By
Noah Griffith