GRANT, Mich. -- Megan Wirts' lips are her canvas and bright red lipstick is her paint. It's safe to say that Wirts, who is a mother of two, loves makeup.
But putting on that makeup takes Wirts a long time.
"My hands don’t always work," she said. "They get cramps, and I have to wait for my head to stop moving."
Megan Wirts puts on her makeup
Wirts has dystonia, a rare neurological movement disorder. It's the third most common movement disorder behind Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, but it is still considered a rare disease that affects only 300,000 people in all of North America.
Wirts' symptoms first appeared just before she turned 30, and doctors still aren't sure why.
"I thought I was going to have my career and things like that," but she had to give up those dreams, Wirts said. She had to quit her job as a respiratory therapist at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.
Just living every day is hard. Cooking, baking, doing laundry and dishes are all struggles for Wirts, because she has muscle spasms, cramps and tremors multiple times a day.
"It’s like charley horses all over," Wirts said as she described her pain. "The worst thing, I think, would be feeling isolated a lot of the time."
Although there are therapies and medications Wirts takes to help her tolerate the Dystonia, she wants a cure.
Wirts is hoping to raise money for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation in an effort to find a cure.
Until then, she'll continue laughing and cracking jokes, making the most of each day.
