Each year, the Association’s Hero Awards recognize special individuals in the ALS community who have made a significant impact for those living with the disease. Their stories of courage and determination in the face of unimaginable adversity are a reminder that heroes aren’t born, but made from the choice to lean into challenges and commit to the greater good.
Brooke Eby is funny, and she knows it. She freely admits that her default mechanism for approaching just about anything in life is to make jokes about it, including about having ALS. “There's just so many things that I guess I find funny,” she said. “I'm not sure everyone does until I put them in a funny light. But I also think making jokes about it makes people more comfortable asking questions.”
Of course, until not that long ago ALS seemed to be about the least likely thing Brooke would need to make jokes about. She was young and healthy, until 2018 when she noticed a slight limp and was having difficulty pushing off her left foot. “It was slapping on the ground, and I assumed it was some sort of workout injury. I was like, ‘wow, I must be really in shape if I am starting to limp from a basic workout,’” she said.
For a long time that was her only symptom, so she held out hope that it was something, anything, but ALS. “I think the combination of my slower progression and the fact that I am younger, a woman, I think all led us to more hope that it wouldn't be ALS,” Brooke said, “but ultimately ALS stopped hiding.” In March of 2022, after visits to many doctors and many tests, she was finally diagnosed with ALS at just 33 years old.
“When I was diagnosed, the first couple months, I was in such shock it was just survival,” Brooke said. “But as I started coming out of that, I think my natural inclination to making jokes about it just kicked in and I was like, there's so many comical things that happen when you get a diagnosis like this when you're young. Imagine trying to date when you're like, ‘by the way, I'm using a cane now. I might have a wheelchair in a week. Who knows?’”
Since then, Brooke has continued to attack ALS head-on, driving awareness through her large and ever-growing social media channels. Her followers on TikTok number more than 100,000, and on Instagram (@LimpBroozkit), more than 85,000. So far, Brooke has raised nearly $1 million for research through her public appeals.
Brooke’s following on social media has allowed her to break through to audiences on more traditional media as well. She has shared her story on NBC’s “Today Show,” on multiple podcasts and blogs, and in “The New Yorker” magazine, always bringing her sense of the absurd and positive outlook on life to help raise awareness and funds for ALS.
“If I make it a little bit lighter, I find that people are more eager to ask questions and to have conversations about it and hopefully carry on conversations outside of just TikTok and Instagram.”
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