David M. Dickson Jr. has always enjoyed a zest for an active life. From neighborhood quarterback to surfing, fishing, weightlifting, and mountain biking this outgoing Florida native loved staying on the move. In 1994 he traveled from his sunny home in Gainesville, Florida to begin a new rocky mountain adventure in Denver, Colorado as a popular server for the Famous Ruth Chris Steakhouse.
His attraction to fitness led him to become an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer before he moved on to mortgage banking. An epilepsy diagnosis in 2001 took David from banking back to the fitness industry when he became an American College of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer.
In 1969, when David was ten months old, he experienced a Tonic-Clonic seizure (formally referred to as a grand mal seizure) from hydrocephalus. His surgeon performed a Right Occipital Craniectomy with an Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy. This is a surgical procedure offered to children with obstructive or non-communicating hydrocephalus. Baby David came through the procedure with no complications and his early life continued.
During his elementary school years, he was diagnosed with unilateral right-sided high-frequency hearing loss. When he experienced another Tonic-Clonic seizure in early 2002 he began medical care for epilepsy. It turns out the effects of epilepsy medication mimic superficial siderosis symptoms. David’s health issues rocked on until an MRI during a five-day stay in an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in June 2017 exposed the hemosiderin present in his brain. A lumbar puncture later in the year confirmed there was no longer an active bleed so David was able to begin chelation therapy in early 2018.
David has retired from personal training after another Tonic-Clonic seizure this past January. He is now adjusting his life to accommodate his symptom acceleration with his recent evolution as a self-employed public speaker. His original T-shirt design is being featured as the first in the newly launched SSRA Guest Artist Series. He has also joined the Superficial Siderosis Research Alliance as the Rocky Mountain Area Regional Team Leader. *
David M. Dickson Jr. is an outgoing advocate, public speaker, and retired personal fitness trainer. He still enjoys spending time outdoors when he can and working on his fitness. You can find David on Facebook.
*The SSRA is recruiting team leaders based on geography to help coordinate volunteer activities, liaison with local fundraising projects, and advocate for the superficial siderosis community. If you are interested in volunteering please visit ssra.livingwithss.com
