Doug Clough is a fearless ALS advocate from Gilbert, Ariz., who has made it his mission to make a huge impact on people living with ALS. Despite his ALS diagnosis in April 2014, he keeps going. He is involved in ALS advocacy in every way possible, from participating in The ALS Association National Advocacy Day to serving on the National ALS Registry task force to becoming a Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) Research Ambassador to participating in an ALS clinical trial, and this year being awarded the Iron Horse Award.
Diagnosed with ALS in February 2011 with bulbar ALS, Mickey Johnston is a U.S. Air Force Veteran. He lives in Atlanta, Ga. with his wife and caregiver, Debbie. They have been married for 37 years. We are thrilled to share Mickey’s story of how he started the “Shy-Dye Love Ministry” that brightens the lives of people living with ALS all over the world.
Mike Deeley, a United States Navy veteran from Columbia, Pa., proudly served from 1988 to 1992 as an Aviation Electrician Third Class. In December 2016, he was diagnosed with ALS. Today, Mike generously shares his story about how he is determined to make a difference despite his diagnosis.
Larry Tyler from O’Fallon, Missouri, was a loving husband, father, grandfather, devoted friend, coach, and a successful businessman who traveled the world. Larry was diagnosed with ALS in 2014 and passed away just over 18 months later. Despite all the hurdles he faced, Larry managed to keep his sense of humor and faith, while this devastating disease ravaged his body, slowly paralyzing him and eventually robbing him of his life.
When Thelma “TAG” Martinez was diagnosed with ALS in 2013, she was 65 years old. Her caregiver and husband of 46 years, Henry, quickly became involved in the services provided by their local chapter.
The ALS Association wishes you and your family a very safe and spooky Halloween!
This festive season is another reminder that ALS takes away the ability to do so many things that most of us may take for granted. With this devastating disease, even fun activities like bobbing for apples or going trick-or-treating with kids are made extremely challenging or simply not possible
Home infusion is a safe and effective option available to hospital patients involving the administration of intravenous medications in a patient’s home or other alternate treatment setting. Infusions performed at home have been found to be safe, clinically effective, and improve patient quality of life while being less costly as compared to infusion care provided in a hospital setting. This also leads to fewer disruptions in patients’ personal schedules and responsibilities.
From donations raised through the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, The ALS Association, in partnership with the Greater New York Chapter, made a $2.5 million commitment to the Center for Genomics of Neurodegenerative Disease (CGND) at the New York Genome Center (NYGC).
The Center for Genomics of Neurodegenerative Disease (CGND) at the New York Genome Center (NYGC) is a prominent player in ALS genetics, leading the way in ALS gene discovery. We are proud to report on its many successes in ALS genetics that were made possible by our major funding efforts.
From that moment, Kids4Cure: Two Brothers on a Mission, was formed. The boys registered a team in the Cincinnati Walk to Defeat ALS in the fall of 2004 and rallied support from across the community. In their inaugural year, they raised more than $80,000 and brought nearly 550 people to walk with them.
Meet Dr. Veronique Belzil, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla., and a former ALS Association Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellow. Having been personally touched by ALS, she is extremely dedicated to finding treatments and ultimately a cure for this devastating disease.
In general, people with disabilities are traveling more than ever, including those living with ALS. In response, the travel industry is paying greater attention to their special needs by providing more services and accommodations.
The clinical trial to test RNS60, a new compound for the treatment of ALS, which was supported in part from a $1.0 million grant through the ALS ACT initiative funded by The ALS Association and ALS Finding A Cure®, is now actively enrolling. This randomized placebo-controlled phase II study is being run by the IRCCS Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan and the ALS Center of the Maggiore University Hospital in Novara Italy. We are happy to report that the first patient was dosed in mid-July 2017.
Last month, we were honored to be a part of the premier “Mr. Connolly Has ALS,” a new documentary following Gene Connolly in his final year as Concord High School Principal. The film exuded Mr. Connolly’s bright energy and love for life, despite his ALS diagnosis in 2014.
Meet Roger Craig, a three-time Super Bowl Champion and dear friend of Dwight Clark, who was recently diagnosed with ALS. Learn how Roger plans to support Dwight in his fight against ALS.
Meet Howard B. Levy, a highly accomplished certified public accountant with a national reputation and a long history of involvement with and support for The ALS Association. He learned of the Association during the mid-1980s during the last year of the life of his dear father, Jack Levy, who had ALS.
Thomas Todd is one of the hundreds of people living with ALS who was impacted by Hurricane Harvey. As Harvey approached, Thomas was able to safely ride out the storm with friends, but the hurricane had a devastating impact on his house. Harvey flooded his house with nearly two feet of water.
Over the weekend, we spent a few days with Tanner Hockensmith, Executive Director of The ALS Association Texas Chapter, as he and his team were setting up their supply staging facility in Houston and visiting families in need. At the time, they had reached out to all of the people with ALS in the areas affected by Harvey, and managed to connect with most of them.
As ALS progresses, people living with the disease heavily depend on complex rehabilitative technology (CRT), especially their personally customized power wheel chairs. The ALS Association played a critical role both through direct lobbying and grassroots advocacy to win support for legislation to convince the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to abandon plans to apply competitive bidding to CRT. This makes it possible for people living with ALS to continue to obtain the CRT equipment that is customized to their needs.
