By Cynthia Marshall Schuman

Longtime Los Altos Hills resident Marge Shively will be delivering three talks in October on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Spinal muscular atrophy is the leading inherited cause of death in children under 2.

Shively’s first presentation is Sunday at Foothills Congregational Church, 461 Orange Ave. in Los Altos, beginning at 11:45 am.

Then, on Oct. 17, she will speak to the Los Altos Rotary Club at 12:15 p.m. in the Garden House, 400 University Ave. at Shoup Park.

The Garden House is also the setting for Shively’s address to the Los Altos Kiwanis Club on Oct. 22. The meeting begins at noon and non-members are welcome.

Shively became involved in raising public awareness of SMA when her granddaughter, Jessica, was born with it in January.

Jessica has Type I SMA, which kills the nerves that control voluntary movement. According to Shively, Jessica has never rolled over and has difficulty holding up her head.

One of every 6,000 babies is born with SMA and half of those diagnosed by the age of 2 will die before their second birthday.

For more information about the talks, call 948-3192. To learn more about SMA, visit www.curesma.com.