A Room
For Siena
Written By Kimberly Ewertz
T
ypically, a nine-year-old little girl’s bedroom doesn’t
feature wallpaper designed by French artist, Nathalie
Lete, depicting an enchanted forest filled with deer,
owls, bunnies, birds, frogs, and one regal-looking fox. But
then Gilroy’s Siena Arioto is certainly not your typical nine-
year-old little girl.
The lives of the Arioto family were indelibly changed on
June 1, 2016. After four months of countless doctor visits
and thirty-four different types of blood tests, Siena, then
seven, was officially diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, (FA),
a debilitating degenerative disorder affecting approximately
one in 50,000 people in the United States.
“Her major symptoms are a loss of energy, and mobility,”
Laura Arioto, Siena’s mom, said, adding that in the course
of the testing it was discovered that Siena also suffered from
nerve damag e, a heart condition, (hypertrophic myopathy,
a thickening of the heart wall), and scoliosis—all symptoms
of FA.
“She has a neurologist, a pulmonologist, a cardiologist,
an ophthalmologist, a physical therapist, an occupational
therapist and one main doctor who watches her progression
and meets with her. He’s the rehab specialist,” Laura said,
adding that they are all “amazing.”
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
gmhtoday.com
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