Two Disabled Dudes Podcast

As promised, here is the second half of our interview with Ron Bartek, president and cofounder of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, or FARA. Please note that the audio quality is less than ideal, but still definitely enjoyable. Along with Ron’s very impressive resume, we found out that he learned to sleep standing up in Army Ranger School. Ron discovered much of what the body could do when deprived of normal physical needs like sleep and food. Ron shares about the experience of his son Keith’s diagnosis with Friedreich’s ataxia at nine-years-old. A counselor who noticed Keith’s problems with balance and coordination recommended that Keith go to a neurologist for a check-up. At that appointment few months later, Ron and his wife Raychel were told that Keith had Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), a condition they’d never heard of and couldn’t even spell. When they asked what they could do about this diagnosis, the neurologist gave a grim answer - nothing. To Ron and Raychel that was not an acceptable answer so