TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Zoo is one of eight zoos in cities across America to host a Dystonia Zoo Day this year to raise money and awareness for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.
Dystonia is a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle spasms, abnormal postures and slow repetitive movements, many of which can be painful.
Dystonia is not as common or as well known as Parkinson's Disease, another neurological movement disorder.
About 250,000 people have Dystonia in the United States and the disorder can affect everyone from children to older adults.
Dozens of people arrived at the zoo in teams on Saturday morning wearing bright pink t-shirts.
Their goal was to bring awareness to Dystonia and discuss the cause with other zoo-goers.
The zoo days are also designed to bring together and unite individuals with Dystonia and their families who can often feel isolated from others who are affected by the disorder.
The family of Carson Olin comes from Indiana. They've attended serval Dystonia Awareness events in support of Carson.
"When I tell everyone that Carson has Dystonia they're like, 'I don't know what that is,'" said Mackenzie Prater with Team Carson Strong. "So I think spreading the knowledge is good for educational purposes. I always tell everybody, 'don't judge a book by its cover.' You don't know what someone is going through at home or with themselves."
The kick-off for the in-person zoo events started August 18th at the Portland Zoo.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will be holding their Dystonia Zoo Day on September 25.
This years events will conclude with a virtual closing ceremony that anyone can attend on October 8th.
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