During The ALS Association’s annual Leadership Conference in Irvine, Calif., The Association came together to honor the Barnett family, who have contributed over $11 million to The ALS Association since it was founded. Lawrence Barnett was the founding chairman of The Association. To solidify the family’s place in Association history, it was announced that the TREAT ALSTM drug development program will be named “The Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Drug Development Program.”
Over the last year and a half, The ALS Association has been working with authors from Association Chapters, ALS centers and clinics and other ALS organizations to rewrite the original Living with ALS manual series, adding new and relevant content. The series has been developed for people living with ALS, family members, caregivers and other healthcare professionals, as well as our chapter and national staff.
Evy Reviers serves as the CEO of ALS Liga, our sister organization in Belgium and is a champion in ALS patient advocacy and care. She and her organization stepped up to partner with Dr. Desain and his team that develops NoiseTag brain computer interface (BCI), who won the ALS Assistive Technology Challenge in Dublin this past December. Through this collaboration, patients in Belgium will be able to try out the NoiseTag BCI to optimize its function and usability, thereby making it the best product possible.
A type of assistive technology, called brain computer interface (BCI), has been around for years with much room for improvement. We sat down with the 2016 ALS Assistive Technology Challenge winner, Dr. Peter Desain from Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, who invented NoiseTag BCI that gives a novel spin on BCI technology.
Former Tennessee Titans linebacker Tim Shaw’s unexpected diagnosis of ALS doesn’t stop him from finding hope and advocating on behalf of those faced with ALS. He has also been an incredible ally of The ALS Association in fighting this disease.
After over a year in the making, the ALS Assistive Technology Challenge came to its culmination at the finale event during the ALS/MND International Alliance Meeting in Dublin. All five finalist teams came together to show off their prototypes to our esteemed judging team.
The CReATe Consortium is an ALS Association supported strategic initiative dedicated to the discovery and validation of ALS biomarkers and understanding the relationship between the clinical presentation and genetic background of people living with ALS.
In 2016, a significant number of ALS research discoveries, advances in clinical trials, collaborations and strategic initiatives all accelerated the pace of discovery in finding treatments and a cure for ALS.
Earlier this month, The ALS Association was happy to travel to Dublin to participate in the 27th International Symposium on ALS/MND. The Symposium, the largest ever, brought together top ALS researchers and clinicians from all over the world. People in attendance, including those from The ALS Association, used the hashtag #alssymp during the event. Here are some of our favorites!
Our friend Ted Harada passed away this week. Many of you may have known him. Ted was first diagnosed with ALS in August 2010 and immediately became a tireless advocate, volunteer, and voice of the ALS community.
Deborah Silver, an accomplished vocalist and performer, has been active in the fight against ALS since 2009 when her sister was diagnosed with the disease. My sister, Marjie Block, was diagnosed with ALS in 2009. I was by her side visiting doctor after doctor hoping to get any diagnosis other than ALS. We even prayed for Lyme Disease….anything but ALS! Ultimately, this unfortunate diagnosis stayed the same and Marjie’s courageous battle began.
As my dad's health declines it's gotten a lot harder to "keep on keepin' on." I've decided to share my perspective so that maybe other people can know they are not alone in their battles.
My mom was diagnosed with ALS in May 2011. She literally lost her speech within 6 weeks of slurring her words. She was semi-retired but enjoyed her job and co-workers, so she still worked part time at a hospital as an insurance biller. Bravery!
My dad chose to live with his disease, even though we lost him a little each day. He traveled, he loved, he laughed, he lived. I can honestly say (with many tears) he lived 100 years in his 59.
To point at a day on the calendar as the best and worst day of your life is a rare feat. On May 27, 1985, my wife was born - best day of my life. On May 27, 2016, I was told I'm dying - worst day of my life.
My heart sinks as my mind races with questions. What happened to this man? This is ALS? I thought he was just diagnosed? I knew it was rapidly progressing, but it can’t happen this fast, can it? My train of thought was interrupted by another question from the doctor: “Can you speak at all?” He shakes his head. No. Only the ventilator speaks.
Today's story comes from Nell Hardy, pictured above at the 2016 Walk to Defeat ALS in Manhattan with her three sons, Brendan (left), Connor (middle), and Emmet (right). Her fourth "son," Rico, is perched on her lap, which is his favorite spot to spend every day.
I was fortunate to see an early screening and I can say that “Gleason” is raw, honest, and uncompromising. It’s not just about the physical toll that this horrible disease takes on a person, though there is certainly plenty of that. It also shows the emotional toll the disease takes on everyone, especially the person living with ALS and his or her immediate family members.
For six years, he had been building a '57 Chevy from the frame up. It's been his ultimate dream since he was a kid. So after being off work he decided he had to get his car finished. He worked as much as he could, but got weaker by the day. Our two sons helped as much as they could, when not working to help him finish this project.We finally sent the car out for a paint job. My husband was still driving but getting weaker every day.
While my dad was clearly saddened by his diagnosis and the inevitable loss of pride and independence, he tried his best to not let it show. He accepted more help than I had ever seen him want or ask for in his life. He learned how to live with a feeding tube, how to talk to doctors, how to apply for VA assistance and how to alter his financial planning for his new reality.
