Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.
First Recipient of Harrison Brown Volunteer of the Year Award Honored at the Austin Walk
We had the privilege of awarding the first Harrison Brown Volunteer of the Year award to Whitney Sadler at the 2017 Austin Walk to Defeat ALS.
The award honors the late Harrison Brown who lost his life in the stabbing at the University of Texas in May 2017.
Rio Grande Valley Multidisciplinary Clinic Opens at Doctor’s Hospital
We are pleased to announce the addition of a fifth ALS multidisciplinary clinic in Texas. The Rio Grande Valley clinic opened on Friday, October 27 at Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, Texas. Headed by neurologist Zuka A. Khabbazeh, MD, the team met with and treated five patients on opening day.
First Radicava Recipient in Texas Hopes Others Will Benefit from New Drug Too
After 46 years of teaching, Lois Albright retired, and she and her husband moved from their home in Brenham, Texas to Austin to be closer to family. Her daughters had been encouraging her to retire for many years, but she loved to teach.
“People who retire just get sick or have bad things happen to them,” Lois would say in response.
Just a few months after she retired, Lois was diagnosed with ALS in February 2017 – on Valentine’s Day.
Who would’ve thought?
Harvey Intensifies Daily Challenges for Those Living with ALS
ALS Texas commits to helping patients through recovery process
I’ve driven down I-45 toward Houston countless times, but this time was different.
Instead of normal business traffic, I was surrounded by trucks filled with bottled water, construction material, and other basic necessities. Pulling a load of supplies and medical equipment behind me too, I felt uneasy about what I would face when I crossed into Houston.
When I finally did so, one of the first things I noticed was that the devastation was different from block to block. We crossed one debris-lined street only to come upon another that displayed life as normal – houses untouched by the storm and people eating on patios outside of restaurants.
Dodgeball Tournament Raises Over $55,000 in Three Years to Support ALS Research
Three days before Christmas 2009, Turner Corbett’s family got the devastating news that his mom, Jennifer, had been diagnosed with ALS. Turner was just 12 years old.
Wanting to make the most of a difficult situation, in 2015, Turner created a benefit event that would raise money for ALS research. After running through some ideas with his friend Alex Doswell, they decided a dodgeball tournament would be the most fun and family friendly.
ALS Films to Watch
There are many ways, both big and small, to raise ALS awareness. Some people have used their filmmaking or public speaking talents to craft compelling stories of those living with this disease. From TED talks to award-winning documentaries, these videos inspire, educate, challenge and entertain viewers, while celebrating the lives of people with ALS and the contributions they have made.
Below are a few must see videos and films about ALS that are worth watching and sharing with family and friends.
ALS Camps Provide Hope, Help Kids Cope
Although children and teens are very unlikely to develop ALS, that doesn’t mean they aren’t affected by the disease. 85% of people who do have ALS report having children or grandchildren who are directly impacted. Coping with a parent or grandparent’s ALS diagnosis is never easy, but it is especially hard for children, who don’t have the same emotional maturity as their adult counterparts. Becoming a caregiver for someone is a difficult transition to make when you’re used to having that person take care of you. And since it’s unlikely that any of a child’s friends would have experience dealing with ALS, it can leave them feeling alone, with no one to really talk to.
Update: SUCCESS! Help Teach Siri About ALS Awareness
Updated on 5/11: We did it! Thanks to your overwhelming support in petitioning Apple, Siri was updated in less than 24 hours. Now asking Siri, “What is ALS?” brings up the following definition:
“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and motor neuron disease (MND), is a specific disease that causes the death of neurons which control voluntary muscles.”
New Research Brings Help, Hope to People with ALS
ALS is a devastating disease with no cure.
But researchers are working to change that. The increased awareness and donations provided by events like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge—and by people like you—are making a real difference in the pace of discoveries, bringing us ever closer to the end of ALS.
Here are just a few examples of recent advancements in ALS research and technology: