My name is Derrian Hollingsworth. Due to complications caused by having SCA-7, in 2021 (at only 40 years old), I was forced to retire and go on disability permanently. My sister and mother both have SCA-7 and are fully-disabled. I have several other family members struggling in different ways with SCA-7. Most heartbreaking of all, I have 2 teenage daughters with SCA-7. My 19-year-old is wheelchair-bound, is legally blind (rapidly approaching complete blindness), and has difficulty speaking, swallowing, and completing any coordinated movement. Due to genetic testing results, we know that my 15-year-old will be there in about 2 years. They will never go to college, live on their own, have careers or families, or any of the options and experiences life affords most people. I started the Hollingsworth SCA-7 Fund (now known as The Hollingsworth Foundation) because, even though there is no treatment or cure, I could not sit back and do nothing…and just watch their health deteriorate and lives fall apart. I want to help them, and anyone affected by SCA-7, in any way that I can for as long as I can. If you have (or know someone who has) SCA-7, you know the situation is humbling, heartbreaking, and hopeless…but The Hollingsworth Foundation will fight SCA-7…

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