Pogulis helping lead the charge against ataxia
by Peter Bodley
Managing Editor
Trained Army scout Eric Pogulis, a 1992 Coon Rapids High School graduate, is leading the charge against a new, yet familiar enemy that affects the lives of approximately 150,000 Americans – ataxia.
Eric Pogulis when he was a U.S. Army Scout.
Sept. 17, Pogulis will participate for a second year in the second annual Walk, Roll or Stroll for Ataxia in St. Louis Park.
Pogulis first noticed symptoms of Ataxia, a hereditary disease that affected his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, in 2003.
He was serving in the a U.S. Army at the time, having fought in Kosovo.
Pogulis was to be one of the first U.S. soldiers to be deployed to Iraq, but that changed when the symptoms of ataxia appeared.
“I started noticing that I was having symptoms of ataxia,” Pogulis said.
“I was experiencing problems with coordination and some difficulty with speech.
“Deep down I knew that these symptoms could make me a liability to myself and to my combat team, so I had to face the fact that in spite of my desire to go to Iraq to defend my country, I couldn’t jeopardize our mission. And I realized that I had a new, yet familiar enemy that would follow me wherever I go.”
Pogulis had to leave the military at that point, although he had hoped that he would be able to serve the military in some other way, he said.
He moved to North Carolina and was employed by a firm under civilian contract with the military for a year before the progression of the disease ended his ability to work and he moved back to Minnesota, Pogulis said.
Ataxia is an inherited disease of the central nervous system. Children whose parents have ataxia have a 50 percent chance of getting the disease.
According to Pogulis, when he was diagnosed, he realized that he had at least one opportunity to end his family’s battle with ataxia, but it meant that he would not be able to have any children.
The male ataxia gene makes the disease even more likely for any children that he might have had, Pogulis said.
A progressive disease, Pogulis cannot run or bike any more and when he walks, it is not in a straight line, he said.
His dexterity in both his hands and feet is affected, so is his speech, Pogulis said.
“But I go to the gym as often as I can to keep up my strength,” he said. “That’s very important.”
Now 37 years of age, Pogulis, who never married, currently lives in a house, but sooner or later he expects he will have to move to a townhouse or apartment once the ataxia prevents him from doing household chores, like mowing the grass, Pogulis said.
“Although ataxia ended his military career and the chance to become a father, his courage to engage in combat has been transformed into a personal fight against the debilitating effects of ataxia on his body,” said Chris Chell, a close friend of Pogulis.
That’s why Pogulis is working to raise awareness about ataxia and is participating in the second annual Walk, Roll or Stroll for Ataxia Sept. 17 at Wolfe Park in St. Louis Park, according to Chell.
Besides himself, Pogulis’ four-person team includes his sister Miranda Pogulis, her friend Ellice Weiss and his aunt Sylvia Mondate.
His goal is to raise $1,000, Pogulis said.
But his team has already raised $700, he said. “I have no trouble raising the limit on the amount,” Pogulis said.
According to the National Ataxia Foundation website, the word ataxia means without coordination.
People with ataxia have problems with coordination because parts of the nervous system that control movement and balance are affected, the website states.
Ataxia may affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech and eye movements.
For more information, go to www.ataxia.org.
Peter Bodley is at peter.bodley@ecm-inc.com
