Jennifer Simpson remembers the telepathic feeling she had two years ago. She was at home in South Glens Falls with her son, Christopher, when she got an overwhelming sense her husband needed her.
She told her son to hop in the car and they sped to the mall, where she knew her husband, Ben, was Christmas shopping.
When she located him, she ran over, horrified. Ben was staggering through the food court, bracing himself against the wall.
People thought he was drunk. Everybody was like staring at him going, Whats wrong with this dude? she recalled.
Ben told Jennifer his right leg wouldnt do what his brain told it to.
That episode was the first in what would become a devastating downward spiral in his health.
Ben has been diagnosed with progressive cerebellar ataxia, a neurological disorder that causes damage or degeneration of the cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination.
The deterioration has been swift.
In 24 months, the 31-year-old man who once had a passion for martial arts and hiked with his family now weighs under 100 pounds and lies bedridden at The Pines at Glens Falls Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Bens mind remains intact while his body has betrayed him. He is fed through a tube and wears adult diapers. He cant form words. He expresses his agitation by kicking his legs under the blanket that he pulls up to his chin. He clenches his hands into fists, which doctors think might be Stiff Person Syndrome, although at this point its secondary to the cerebellar ataxia.
Original post:
Swift and devastating disease takes toll on local man, 31, as his family struggles