Hello,

I will start by introducing myself : Dominique Ruiz-Courcelle, 50% Québécoise , 50% Salvadorian , 24 years old, speaks French, English and Spanish, lives in Gatineau, likes traveling, cinema, traveling , series , traveling, reading, traveling, eating, traveling, seeing shows, traveling… and traveling too! Meanwhile, I live with Friedreich’s Ataxia since my diagnosis at the age of 13. I say that I live in a shared apartment because I refuse to let my illness define me! We are two distinct entities, but of course we must adapt to each other (in fact, it’s more me who must adapt to her, but hey).

I don’t know where to start. I have a bachelor’s degree in communications, I am a federal civil servant, I am an ambassador for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern Ontario, in the last few months I have been hearing more and more about the Ataxia Canada Foundation . I can see that it is such a great organization !!! A foundation, with values ​​that identifies with me. I told myself ‘’I MUST get involved!”.

My goal with the various articles that I am writing for this blog is to tell you about my life. I am trying  to reach people like me who also live with Ataxia. Usually, we all go through similar obstacles, so why not share my experiences if it helps people? Also, I dare to hope to join “normal” people to show them that their preconceived ideas (voluntarily or not) about people with a disability are totally wrong! Believe it or not, but when I am asked to rate my health out of 10, I always give like a 14-15 !

In short, here is my contribution to the Ataxia Canada blog. I am diving head first into the adventure. I can’t wait to share my perspective on life with you. I am convinced that together, we will do great things! See you soon.