Gabriella Garbero is an 18-year-old student at the University of Missouri. Like many freshman, she took part in rush which culminated in accepting a bid from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. But with this experience, Gabriella made history at MU by becoming “the first woman in the university’s history to participate fully in rush while using a wheelchair.”

Gabriella has type 2 spinal muscular atrophy. To enter sorority houses during rush, a friend set up portable ramps so Gabriella could maneuver her wheelchair over stairs. Now that she is a Kappa Kappa Gamma sister, Gabriella keeps two temporary ramps at the house, which the sorority says will be replaced by permanent ramps. Despite these improvements to the house, Gabriella will not be able to live there due to additional accessibility limitations and her dependency on additional personal aides.

With the thousands of students with disabilities on campus, Gabriella does think it is strange that she is the first to pass this milestone. But, she does give her family credit for her decision to rush, saying “I was blessed to be raised in a family where I wasn’t limited just from being in a wheelchair.” Gabriella has already inspired others to follow in her path, as her roommate, who also uses a wheelchair, is considering the next rush season.

To read the full article from the Columbia Missourian, click here.

The Temple News, a student publication of Temple University, profiled sophomore Jimmy Curran in the May 5th issue. The third of four children, Curran is the only child in his family who has type 2 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affects motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord and disrupts the production of protein necessary to maintain muscle strength.

Despite being confined to a wheelchair and suffering muscle weakness, Curran hasn’t let the effects of the disease dramatically change his life. He is majoring in business at Temple University and plans to own his own business in the future. Just like any other college student, he enjoys hanging out with his friends and listening to music.

To read the entire article, click here.

There was a great article this week in the London Daily Telegraph, one of the largest newspapers in the UK, about Natasha Wood.  You may recall that Natasha was the first person interviewed on Fighting Back, the podcast produced by Fight SMA and FighterMom.  She has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, and is preparing to wrap up the tour of her one-woman autobiographical stage show with a performance at “Her Majesty’s Theater” in London.  The proceeds from the show will go to UK-based SMA charity Jennifer Trust.

Read the Telegraph article here.

Note: Natasha can be a bit bawdy, as the article tells us.  Some language in the article may not be suitable for everyone.