Flyertalk Cares! - 2012 Walk to Defeat ALS® – Please Consider Making a Contribution

On Saturday, September 22, I will be participating in the 2012 Walk to Defeat ALS® in Indianapolis. Funds raised through the ALS Walk contribute to local patient care service programs and globally-driven research. Local patient care services include clinical care centers, support groups (for patients and caregivers) and equipment loan closets.

Why am I walking? I’m walking for those who can’t. But it goes beyond that… My “introduction” to ALS was in 1998 after one of my clients was diagnosed with ALS – he passed away in 2002. I am walking in my client’s memory. I'm also a volunteer with the ALS Association Indiana Chapter.

A few facts about ALS:
• ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
• Approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year.
• Although the life expectancy of an ALS patient averages about two to five years from the time of diagnosis, this disease is variable and many people live with quality for five years and more. More than half of all patients live more than three years after diagnosis.
• ALS can strike anyone – it occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries.
• Presently there is no known cause of the disease though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the meantime it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need.

Please consider sponsoring me. With your help, we will be able to make a difference in the lives of people affected by this disease. If you would like to donate to the ALS Walk in Indiana contributions can be made through my page (https://secure2.convio.net/alsa/site/Donation2?idb=334341613&df_id=22726&FR_ID=8182&PROXY_ID=3515965&PROXY_TYPE=20&22726.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=ku0d5n5qq3.app223b) at the Indiana ALS Walk site . If you would prefer to make a donation more local to where you live or work, please consider looking for an ALS Walk in your area (http://web.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WLK_landing) to donate to – approximately 165 walks are held around the US each year. I would truly appreciate any donation you make to the ALS Association, large or small.

The ALS Association is a 501(c)(3) organization which means your contributions may be tax deductible for those paying taxes in the USA. Consult with your accountant or tax consultant to confirm.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, also known in the USA as Lou Gehrig's Disease* and in the UK and Commonwealth nations as a Motor Neurone Disease, is a serious problem - a motor neurone disease that has no cure and is progressive in nature.

"ALS is a debilitating disease with varied etiology characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations, muscle spasticity, difficulty speaking (dysarthria), difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), and decline in breathing ability. ALS is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases.

Someone manhy of us know of who has ALS is Stephen Hawking - you can read how he feels about living with ALS here (http://www.hawking.org.uk/living-with-als.html). Doctor Hawking first showed symptoms of ALS / MND at age 21.

This is certainly a disease we can agree needs to be researched and stopped.

For further information:

ALS Association (USA): www.alsa.org

International Alliance of ALS and MND Associations: http://www.alsmndalliance.org

Motor Neurone Disease Association: http://www.mndassociation.org

*Lou Gehrig, AKA "The Iron Horse", was a renowned American baseball player known for his endurance and strength, whose career was ended at 36 when symptoms of ALS manifested themselves.