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Back in 2014, seemingly a lifetime ago, I watched with mild annoyance as my social media feed became increasingly dominated by friends and acquaintances dumping ice water over their heads to raise awareness of some rare disease called ALS.
Little did I know.
Three years later, I was living a normal life as a happily married father of two, with a thriving business that kept me active. When I began experiencing abdominal cramps and weakness in my right thumb, nothing could have prepared me for the diagnosis that was to come—“You have ALS. It is incurable.” I was in a state of shock. How could ANY disease be untreatable in the year 2017?!?
My life and my family’s lives have changed forever with my diagnosis. A happy ever after with my wife now dims from view. I may not be there for important milestones with my kids: vacations, swim meets, graduations, marriages, grandchildren.
It’s hard to think about the things that I may not be able to do in the future, but I’m lucky that my “best brother,” Scott, helps me focus on the things I can do right now.
Scott and I share a passion for cars, particularly, fast ones. Thanks to Scott, we’ve spent the last year living our dream or racing cars together, while I still can. For us, racing has become about finding a cure for ALS. Our passion has turned into a mission to help raise funds and awareness for research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI).
And even if my time is limited, I know the work being done at ALS TDI has the potential to save someone else’s sibling, parent, spouse, or child. Perhaps even my own. Perhaps even yours.
I am writing today to ask you to join Scott and me as we work to help things move faster at ALS TDI. Last year, donor support helped ALS TDI to expand their drug discovery and development program to find more potential treatments for people with ALS. ALS TDI is getting closer to finding effective treatments, but they need community members like you and me to fund their work to end ALS. Will you join our race by making a gift today to support ALS TDI’s critical work?
Together, we will end ALS. Thank you so much.
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