It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Ryan Farnsworth, whose story is featured as a part of our #VoiceYourLove campaign, died yesterday evening surrounded by his family.

Ryan was diagnosed with ALS in January 2015, at the age of 29. As active ambassadors of The ALS Association’s mission and vision, Ryan and his family selflessly moved us closer to our vision to create a world without ALS.

Ryan was a young man of uncommon wisdom and grace, which he brought to everything he did, including his own journey with the disease. He knew that his ALS journey would be ending soon, yet he and his family decided to give their remaining time together to use their voices to raise awareness and support for our ALS community.

Ryan once said, “The intense challenge of living with ALS is a fire that has forged me into a far better version of myself. But I do not consider that I am battling against ALS. It is unhelpful to me to frame it this way, and frankly, it is not a fair fight. And if I thought of it this way, I would be measuring myself as failing as the disease progresses. I decided that I needed to love my body and myself as I am.”

All of us at the Association feel privileged to have known and worked with Ryan.

Our thoughts are with his family and all of those who considered Ryan a friend.

You can learn more about Ryan's work as a writer, poet, inspirational speaker, and personal reflections as a person with ALS through his blog/YouTube Channel and through his book of poetry, "Seeds of Light Sown".