一リットルの涙 aka One Liter of Tears
"Kitou Aya is a young highschooler who finds out that she has Spinocerebellar Atrophy. This disease causes the person to lose control over his or her body. Because the person retains all of her mental ability, this disease is like a prison. Through her struggles, Aya finds words to inspire herself to become strong and cope with the disease and has subsequently inspired millions of readers to overcome their own strife. This is her story"
The site to read her diary.. be inspired..

These are two of her poems..

The other side of suffering
Ikeuchi Aya

Everyone feels pain
But surely, after suffering satisfaction will arrive
Even with sports, studying or other ordeals
With life, it's like that for everyone
If we can beat the pain, on the other side,
a rainbow og happiness awaits us.
That will definaitely become a treasure
Lets believe in that

Step by step
Ikeuchi Aya

WHen my existence seems to disappear,
I will look for the place where i can do the best i can
From now on, i'll deliberate slowly
I wont be impatient
I won't be greedy
I won't give up
Because everyone takes things step by step

before there were blogs... there were diaries.. and this diary shows how a normal teenage gal struggles true life bravely.. soemhing we can all learn from..