Staff photos by Adam Urquhart People, young and old, participate in the Dystance 4 Dystonia Walk. Although it was a walk, a couple younger participants chose to jog ahead of the crowd.

NASHUA – Amanda Sleeper, of Londonderry, lives with a disabling neurological disorder known as Dystonia, but in spite of that, she continues fighting forward to bring awareness to this disorder.

Dystonia might affect a single area of the body or be generalized throughout multiple muscle groups. It’s characterized by muscle contractions causing abnormal, movements, postures or both. It’s estimated that 300,000 people are affected by it in the U.S. and Canada alone. In an effort to raise awareness, Sleeper organized a walk, Dystance 4 Dystonia, where she shared her story before joining supporters for a walk in Mine Falls Park that was just under two miles.

“I did two walks in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, but took a couple years off, because I had my son and life got hectic,” Sleeper said. “This is the first one in New Hampshire, and I think we’re getting a lot more people than expected. We raised close to $2,000.”

Sleeper was diagnosed at 22, and shortly after, her symptoms slowly started getting worse. At 23, she gave birth to her daughter, Hailey, and when caring for her became nearly impossible, she had to take the next step. In April 2011, Sleeper underwent a lengthy surgery to put in a deep brain stimulator to control her muscle spasms. However, it became infected, and she had to have the stimulator removed, causing her symptoms to return.

Once healed, she had the stimulator put back in three days before Christmas in 2011. Since then, Sleeper has been symptom free, until about 7 months ago when her stimulator stopped working. Currently, she’s having the settings on it worked on, but it may have to be redone.

Nonetheless, in her remarks before the walk, she said, “I have learned through my journey that you need to always fight and never give up.” I have learned to share my story with the world, to spread awareness and to always be strong.”

She also thanked everyone who donated and supported her throughout everything. She said she originally expected the walk to mainly just be family, but people came out who she didn’t even know.

More information about the walk can be found online at, https://www.dystoniafoundation.org/events/event_detail/38729.

Adam Urquhart can be reached at 594-1206 or aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.