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. 

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You could forgive Lamar and Kristina Woody if they’d have decided to say no to having ANOTHER thing put on their plate. Their life had already been turned upside down when Lamar was diagnosed with ALS in 2018 at just 30 years old. He had to quit his job and Kristina had to go back to work as a traveling nurse to help make ends meet for them and their daughter Natalie. For Lamar, it was difficult to see Kristina have to work full-time and be his primary caregiver.

So, it would have been easy for them to say a hard “no” when we asked them for the time and effort to share the story of their journey with the world. But they did not say no; they decided to lean into the opportunity to help spread awareness of the disease and help raise funds for the ALS community.

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So beginning in the fall of 2022, we began sharing the Woody’s story through a series of videos, blogs, emails and social media posts. Lamar, Kristina and Natalie opened their world up to us, allowing us to speak with friends, teachers and other members of the community to learn their stories and feelings about their unique relationships with the family.

They allowed the spotlight to be shone on them, but not for themselves. “This is what it looks like to cure ALS. This is what it looks like to us to shine that light on us to make a change,” Lamar said.

On our journey we met childhood and college friends, members of their local community who are part of their “village,” their local ALS care team, and even a former voice student of Lamar’s who decided to pay that kindness forward to help where she could. Each story made it clearer and clearer that the Woody's are an amazing family and were surrounded by a fantastic group of people who loved them dearly.

The slice of their lives that the Woody’s shared with us was not the beginning or end of their story. They still face the challenges ALS brings along with the loads of laundry, family dinners, homework and school projects and other daily tasks that make up life. But by sharing part of their story with us and the ALS community, they showed us why it is so vital to make ALS livable for everyone, everywhere, until we can cure it.

“It has been a great privilege to share our families’ journey for the last couple of years and to be a part of humanizing this disease,” Kristina said. 

To continue to follow stories about people living with ALS in the community and learn more about the disease, subscribe to receive our weekly blogs in your inbox HERE or follow us at als.org/blog.   

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