Thank you for helping me reach my Walk to Defeat ALS fundraising goal! The Walk to Defeat ALS raises funds to support those affected by ALS and to spread awareness of the urgency to find treatments and a cure.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of a person with ALS averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis. ALS can strike anyone, and presently there is no known cause or cure.

My Journey

In November 2019, I began showing the first signs of what would be diagnosed as ALS--a modest slurring of my speech.  My wife urged me to have our doctor see me after a few weeks of the slurring. In early 2020, my voice then became slightly hoarse. Between then and July 2020, I saw a series of doctors at which time I was diagnosed. At present, ALS has no cure. 

Between then and today, my wife and I decided to live each day to the fullest extent possible. We both retired early, moved to Mexico and completed some bucket list travel. In April, based on my doctors' recommendation due to my disease progression, we returned to New Jersey for good.

I now wear a ventilator mask near 24/7 to help me breathe and I move around exclusively in a power wheelchair.

I consider myself very fortunate. Others living with ALS are not as blessed as we have been with such a tremendous support network. And so, we will once again be in Philadelphia this year for the Walk. If you can join us, Carla and I would love to see you! If you can't, we hope you can contribute to this cause. 

Thank you.