WATERLOO - Eric Rasmussen knew he had muscular dystrophy more than a dozen years before being diagnosed. At 20, he noticed weakness in his arms and legs. Muscles were beginning to shrink, and he recognized that fact.

Nevertheless, Rasmussen didn't consult a doctor until 1998.

"Pride issues. I thought, 'I'm gonna keep pushing on,'" he said.

"It finally got the best of me."

He was diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a type that primarily affects hips and shoulders.

Like other kinds, limb-girdle is a progressive disease, though it progresses more slowly than more debilitating muscular dystrophies.

Nevertheless, the disease advanced.

Rasmussen broke the same leg in 2005 and 2008 because of weak thigh muscles and couldn't return to full strength. He had problems walking, even standing up.

But he's not just sitting around. With the help of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, insurance and fundraisers, Rasmussen purchased a power wheelchair and adapted a van that allows him to drive while in the power chair.

A fall would be particularly dangerous because of the possibility of breaking a bone.

"I don't have to worry about tripping on a loose piece of sidewalk or a crack or the ice," he said.

Because of the wheelchair and van, Rasmussen resumed regular activities and was able to return to work. He is employed as a debt collector at CBE Group in Waterloo.

He is especially grateful to those charity efforts, including the biggest muscular dystrophy fundraiser of all, the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

This year the event will be Labor Day weekend, Sept. 6-7.

"It shows hope, and the fact that people … generally have goodness in them, and it shows," Rasmussen said. "You can tell that people want to see this type of thing get cured."

In recognition of his ongoing efforts despite a disability, Rasmussen will receive the 2010 Robert Ross Personal Achievement Award. The honor is given in memory of the Muscular Dystrophy Association CEO who died in 2006.

Rasmussen will accept the award during a telethon broadcast from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 7 at Sam's Club in Waterloo, hosted by Jared Allen of KGAN.

The local telethon complements the two-day national campaign, also broadcast on CBS and hosted by Jerry Lewis.

Josh Nuss, district director for the MDA office in Cedar Falls, believes in telethon's effectiveness.

"I think it really raises awareness for MDA and all the diseases we cover," he said.

Funds raised locally stay in Northeast Iowa, Nuss said, helping send children with the disease to Camp Courageous and buying equipment for people like Rasmussen. The money also helps provide support groups and funds research at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics into causes and cures.

The public can visit during the live broadcast at Sam's Club. Though normally a members-only business, Sam's Club will offer free passes for the day so customers can go behind the scenes of the telethon as well as shop.

Outdoor activities will begin at noon, including tie-dyeing T-shirts. Buck, the mascot for the Waterloo Bucks baseball team, will also make an appearance.

Nuss is encouraging those who can't attend to tune in the show. Every hour will feature a different aspect of the MDA in the community, such as firefighters who helped with Fill the Boot promotions. There will also be interviews with families affected by muscular dystrophy.

In the past two years, donations have remained constant at $1.6 million in Iowa. Nationally the number decreased to $65 million in 2008 from $67.3 million a year earlier.

Nuss and Rasmussen hope those numbers go up, especially because no treatment options are yet available for Rasmussen's type of muscular dystrophy. They remain hopeful that will change.

"There are studies out there, new treatments being tried all the time," Rasmussen said.