But when Jessica tumbled off the bleachers while preparing to accept a math award at her South Jersey high school graduation, the undeniable reality that something more than mere clumsiness was at work became glaringly apparent.Three years later, when her daughter received the shocking diagnosis, Judy Kalnas immediately recalled statements her own mother had made decades earlier about another family.own children, especially Jessica, now 31.
“I thought it would eventually just disappear if I did things to strengthen my legs. So I would always act like I was okay when I would fall,” she said.Her mother, a preschool teacher, was concerned. “I would go to [field hockey] practices and watch and think, ‘Why isn’t she running like everybody else?’ ” Judy recalled. Later she learned that the coach had been alarmed by Jessica’s repeated falls during practice.
The graduation night fall from the bleachers in 2008, when Jessica said her “knee just gave out,” proved to be a catalyst. Within days, mother and daughter saw their family physician. He referred Jessica to a neurologist in nearby Camden.