Author Archives: Brianna Albers

Even with SMA, my checkups have, for the most part, become pretty routine. Every six months, I drive 30 minutes to my nearest specialty clinic. While there, I see various doctors, each with their own unique…

It was another appointment in an appointment-packed January. My hopes weren’t particularly high, but no one will ever accuse me of being a less-than-perfect patient, so I braved the cold bite of the new year. I…

Let me explain something called “pee math.” I was familiar with the concept, but didn’t realize it was a common experience in the SMA community until a colleague brought it up. It goes like…

Four must be my unlucky number, because the worst years of my life have all ended in four: 2014, the year of major depression, and 2024, the year of suck. (I’m sure 2004…

If you have SMA or care for someone with the disease, you’ll know what I mean when I say we get sweaty. At first I thought it was just me, but then I read somewhere…

It’s 2014. I’m months-deep into a major depressive episode. Nothing is enjoyable, not even my all-time favorite video game. I feel listless in the worst of ways. Several of my friends are playing “Dragon Age: Inquisition”…

“Watch out for that Heidi Brown,” my dad likes to say. “She’ll keep you on your toes.” It’s true. If there’s one thing my mom excels at (and there are many), it’s coming up with the most exquisite…

I’m about to date myself, but hang with me for a sec. Back in my day (which wasn’t really that long ago; I’m not that old), online school was unthinkable. Perpetually online folks like me were seeing the writing on the wall and begging people in power to embrace…

The thing about visible disabilities is that you can’t really hide them. You can try, but there’s only so much you can do when it comes to a big honking wheelchair. The internet, however, is a completely different story. There’s a freedom to it, a flexibility, that you can’t…

If you’d asked me a year ago what my plans were for SMA Awareness Month, I would’ve come back with a laundry list of items, from Instagram Reels to the Minnesota Walk-n-Roll event put on by Cure SMA. This year looks a little different. Part of it…