SAWYER JOACHIM – 2014 RECIPIENT

From left to right, Eric Steingraber, Cali Steingraber, and Sawyer Joachim

We spent that year understanding what this meant for Sawyer, for our family and going to multiple doctors’ appointments. We know along the way that we will have to teach Sawyer to adapt but not be confined to this diagnosis. We quickly learned as a family that we have this one life and that we were going to live it to the fullest.

In the spring of 2010 we were contacted and informed that Sawyer had the opportunity to be in a clinical trial. This clinical trial includes medication that is predicted to decrease the progression of his muscle weakening. For a year and a half we traveled with Sawyer to Columbus Ohio weekly for medication infusions and physical therapy testing. After numerous physical therapy evaluation and three muscle biopsies, researchers have identified a decrease in the progression of the disease, this has given Sawyer to ability to walk just as far as he had three years ago.

Sawyer is a gift! Sawyer loves to be surrounded by family and friends, he loves to love. Sawyer has a passion for inventing “things”: rabbit traps, the better paper airplane and he has written and filled notebooks full of ideas for handicap accessible bows, tree stand and his future Chevy truck. Most of all Sawyer loves to hunt fish and be outdoors! Although this disease has made this harder for him, his Dad and Grandpa Dan do whatever it takes to get him into that secret turkey/deer blind or fishing canoe. Our family has been taught that there is not anything that is impossible for Sawyer; we improvise