Lehigh Acres resident Cindy Steever-Ziegler can't do anything by herself anymore.

But she still found the strength to start a nonprofit organization to raise awareness of the strange and progressive disease that disabled her.

"I just sit at home all day," said Steever-Ziegler, 52. "I can't do anything, I feel dizzy all the time and even need help to stand up."

Steever-Ziegler suffers from ataxia, a rare brain disorder that impairs limb and speech coordination.

She said simple tasks - tying shoes, doing household chores, cooking, even talking and eating - became almost impossible as symptoms progressed.

Even walking requires a dedicated effort.

"Do you remember that joke about people who can't chew gum and walk at the same time? Well, that's me," she joked. "If you talk to me, I have to stop doing whatever I'm doing to answer you."

Despite her limitations, Steever-Ziegler created a nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation in January called Know Ataxia to raise funds for research.

"We need to educate families and coworkers, and members of the professional medical field," she said.

Know Ataxia will have "Walk and Wobble" National Day on Sept. 25 at Florida Gulf Coast University.

"People can come and walk with us, or if they can't, they may wobble, just like I do," Steever-Ziegler said. "The important thing is that people know about ataxia and its risks."

Registration will be about $20-$25 per person, and all the proceeds will benefit the National Ataxia Foundation.

Steever-Ziegler first noticed the symptoms in June 2003. She was giving a presentation to more than 60 people at work when her laser pointer began to shake uncontrollably.

At the end of the meeting, attendees asked her if she was nervous.

"But I wasn't," she said. "I just couldn't hold my hand still."

As weeks passed, the symptoms got worse and started to include dizziness.

"My body was telling me something was wrong," she said.

Doctors couldn't pinpoint the problem.

"First, they told me it was vertigo, then Parkinson's," she said. "They even thought I had a stroke."

Almost two years and many tests later she was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia type 14.

"Life, as I had known it, was over," Steever-Ziegler said.

The disorder left her disabled and totally dependent on her husband, Joe Ziegler, 60.

"It was a complete change in lifestyle," he said. "Before this, we traveled a lot. Now it's only doctor's visits."

About 50-60 percent of all ataxia cases are hereditary, according to Sue Hagen, director of patient services of the Minneapolis-based National Ataxia Foundation.

"The spinocerebellar ataxia types have a prevalence of between 1-10 cases per 100,000 population," Hagen said.

There is still no treatment or cure, and there is no way to slow the progression of symptoms.

Since little is known about ataxia, it often goes misdiagnosed. Only an expensive genetic test can determine it. Steever-Ziegler hasn't taken the test because the co-payment will cost her at least $4,000.

Steever-Ziegler said she doesn't have contact with other ataxia patients, although she knows of at least three other people in Southwest Florida who suffer from the disorder.

Despite her plight, Steever-Ziegler hopes the best for the future.

"I know I can't be saved," she said. "I hope other generations can be saved."

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