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Medical mystery: A teenager’s apparent clumsiness foreshadowed a shocking diagnosis

Over the next year, the teenager seemed to become increasingly uncoordinated. At her South Jersey high school graduation in 2008, Jessica Kalnas tumbled off the bleachers while preparing to accept a math award.

Jessica Kalnas (left) and her mother, Judy Kalnas, in their backyard. "My biggest fear was: 'How am I going to live with this? How am I going to watch this happen?'" Judy says. "The main thing is that we weren't going to lose her."
Jessica Kalnas (left) and her mother, Judy Kalnas, in their backyard. "My biggest fear was: 'How am I going to live with this? How am I going to watch this happen?'" Judy says. "The main thing is that we weren't going to lose her."Read moreFamily photo
    by Sandra G. Boodman, The Washington Post
    Published