2008 Walk to Defeat ALS (and book giveaway)

My Mom and ALS

In December 2006 my mom began noticing symptoms of what we would find out to be the bulbar form of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. She began slurring words and found chewing and swallowing to be more difficult. In the time since, she’s gotten progressively worse. After her mouth degenerated, her neck became unable to support her head, she lost the use of her right hand, and then her left hand. Within the last month mom’s been having trouble breathing, which is what kills most ALS patients. There is no cure, and the condition is fatal. A few sufferers will live for years or even decades with the disease. Mom has progressed rapidly and will be lucky to live more than another few months.

While physically difficult to manage, mom has tried to be as independent as possible. She uses an AAC device to communicate (a talking computer, essentially). With the help of caregivers and family, she’s doing many things, including having planned family events, designed quilts, and visited with hundreds of guests. She’s now organizing a team for the ALSA walk for the second year in a row.

Why We Need Your Help

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. If you choose to walk with me, you will be a part of an exciting, empowering event for patients, family members, friends, companies and organizations across the country; all of whom are walking to support comprehensive patient service programs and leading-edge ALS research.

You can play an essential role by sponsoring me. Both walkers and donors directly impact the lives of those affected by ALS by providing the means to raise awareness and to offer the services needed to treat and defeat this disease. Last year, the ALSA Evergreen Chapter Walks raised over $348,000 proving to be our most successful Walk season to date! This year, we hope to surpass this amount by raising $410,000 for continued programs and services on a local and national level.

Not only do proceeds from the Walk to Defeat ALS go to services that improve the day-to-day lives of ALS patients and their loved ones, but the money we raise is directed toward programs that look to the future. Promising research indicates that we are getting closer to finding treatment options and scientists are hopeful that a cure will one day be discovered.

Without the ALSA, my mom would be up a creek without a paddle. They provided the computer that mom uses to talk. They provided a hospital bed so she won’t choke lying down. Someone from the ALSA was there when we organized mom’s hospice care. The list goes on and on.

Your donation means the ALSA will be there for the next person who finds themselves with this degenerative disease.

This Is the Part Where I Beg!

Last year Mom got to cut the ribbon to start the walk (see the photo above). This year she may not be able to be present personally, but it is her goal to break records collecting money for the organization that has meant so much for her. I want to help her achieve this.

Every penny you donate through this page counts toward her team.

To encourage you to donate, I offer the following: For every donation of $20 or more made through this page before the walk on September 20, I will send a book (of my choosing) to the donor! Mind you, this will not be an extravagant book. It will likely be used, beat up, well-read, and well-loved. It may be an ex-library book. If you donate $100 or more, I will make sure it’s a new, unread book. It’s a token of my appreciation to those who help my mom. It comes from my pocket, not your donation.

When you donate, please indicate any genre/category preferences in the “Personal Note to the Walker I am Supporting” as well as the address to which I should send the book. I do not get to see the billing address you use to donate. Just the message.

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I’m also going to do something else I very rarely do: beg for links. Please link to this entry. Even if you cannot afford to donate (and I know many people cannot) a link to this entry will help people find it who can donate. Put your blog to use to help patients with ALS!

If you have a blog and link to this entry, I’ll put your name in a hat for a $25 gift certificate to Amazon or Powell’s Books, winner’s choice. One chance per person/blog. If you want to make sure I see the link, leave a comment or email. Link must appear on or before 19 September (one day before the end of the fundraiser).

Time’s up for this part.