Walk for ALS hopes to help fight disease

Somewhere between five and 10 per cent of the cases have an identified genetic link to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but even that is not conclusive.

The disease usually hits those between 40 and 60 years, but I have known many people diagnosed with this debilitating fatal disease who were much younger and some who were older. Most of these people were extremely vital, very active and dynamic individuals.

I remember a young newlywed colleague who was frustrated with his ‘awkwardness’. ALS is not easy to diagnose and can be confused with many other conditions including Lyme disease. My colleague died within two years of the definitive finding, leaving a young wife and a three-year-old son.

Another such person was Jack Morell.

Jack was a kind, loving, family man with a keen sense of justice and a strong desire to improve his community. His family rallied around him while he was living and now they are determined to assist others in the same position.

His daughters Wanda Van Tassell and Shirley Milbury are actively involved in the ALS Association in Digby County. As previously reported by Jeanne Whitehead in July there have been some extremely successful fundraisers to support this cause, but the effort continues.

On Saturday, the sixth annual Digby Walk for ALS will be held on Shore Road in Digby. Registration starts at 10 a.m., with the walk at 11. They will also be drawing the three winning tickets on the raffle for some very special, delightful, over-filled baskets: a romantic basket, a woman’s basket and a man’s basket.

For information on the walk or to purchase raffle tickets, contact Wanda at 245-4388 or Shirley at 245-6360.

According to the World Health Organization, neurodegenerative diseases are predicted to surpass cancer as the second leading cause of death in Canada by 2040.

Such diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (peroneal muscular atrophy, PMA) and ALS.

Ironically these conditions are not new to medical science as most of them were identified in the mid 1800s, but treatment options for these disorders were minimal until very recently.

Although some treatments can improve the quality of life and increase longevity in persons with these conditions, but there are no cures. kristy@ns.sympatico.ca