On Sunday, September 24 2023, I'm participating in the ALS Revolution Ride. This is a cycling event to raise awareness and funds for the ALS Society of Canada, who are an entirely donor-funded charity.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, or motor neuron disease) is a disease that gradually paralyzes people because the brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles of the body that we are typically able to move at will. Over time, as the muscles of the body break down, someone living with ALS will lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and eventually breathe.

ALS is not contagious. There is no cure for ALS and few treatment options for the majority of people living with the disease. ALS does not have a biomarker that can be tested for. Those who exhibit ALS-like symptoms are tested for a range of other conditions with same/similar symptoms. If those tests come back negative, ALS is the diagnosis.

My connection to ALS is two fold. My father passed away from ALS on September 24, 1991. To watch someone you love and revere wither away because of this disease is beyond heartbreaking. I can't remember this voice because he could not speak the last year of his life.

My other connection is I began to develop ALS symptoms in the summer of 2021. We went through a year of extensive testing and all results were negative. In July 2022, they diagnosed me as developing ALS. In the past year, the majority of my symptoms have been stable and the main symptom I exhibited in 2021 has greatly improved. This is very atypical and I'm optimistic moving forward. There is hope that my diagnosis will change but I live my life like it won't.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and considering to donate. Have a wonderful fall

Darrell