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GREATEST PERSON
OF THE WEEK
HUFFINGTON
10.28.12
assembly halls and even juvenile
detention centers about the damage
and trauma (both mental and physical) that bullying inflicts on fellow
students. Gabe draws on her own
experiences being bullied throughout middle school and high school,
where barbs were usually aimed
at her rare neuromuscular disease
called Friedrich’s Ataxia.
“Kids that were physically different were more of a target—
weaker physically, more passive.
I mean, I couldn’t really stand up
for myself,” said Ford. “They’d
make fun of me for everything—
every little thing about me was
wrong to them.”
COURTESY OF GABE FORD
EARLY YEARS
Ford was born with the
genetic disease, which is progressive in nature and forced her
into a wheel chair at 25. However, Ford’s symptoms didn’t show
until she was about 12-years-old,
a time when she was focused
on ballet, and generally very active. As the disease escalated,
Ford’s dancing dreams were put
aside and replaced with the selfconsciousness that stemmed
from her inability to walk with
ease and frequent struggles to
keep her balance. These insecu-
rities were quickly exploited.
“They knew my balance wasn’t
good—it was easy for me to fall,”
she says. “They would trip me,
push me into the wall or other
people. They’d take things from
me and wouldn’t give them back.”
In addition to the physical harassment, Ford also had to deal
with a barrage of insults and rumors regularly circulating about
her. With no niche for herself and
no real friends at school, she retreated further into herself. Ford’s
routine consisted of chores, dinner
and homework in her room—with a
self-enforced closed-door policy.
“I didn’t open up much about
Students line
up to greet
Ford and her
dog, Dinah,
a cousin of
Izzy’s.