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Help Raise the Bar

$50 raised,
our goal is $1,000!

Lori La Clare & Als Research

ALS - a devastating disease..

Imagine your mind staying healthy and strong while the rest of your body slowly shuts down until you're unable to move. Can you imagine being trapped in your own body - literally? And then you die?

I am trying to raise money and awareness for a disease that I knew nothing about until tonight after I read a story in the local paper. I just feel that it's something that I need to do.
It's a lengthy read, but I will edit & abbreviate:

Louise Lamaga, 58, was a mother, a grandmother, and a kindergarten teacher for more than 30 years. Louise was down visiting her daughter who was vey pregnant. At one point Louise thought she may have arthritis, because her toe felt funny, it wouldn't move properly. This was in August 2006.

In September, her daughter gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Louise was back at home with health that was rapidly declining. By this time she wasn't able to flex her foot. She started to trip, she had a bad fall at school..and fell on the escalator at the airport. In November she broke her leg while visiting her father in the hospital. During her recovery, she came down to stay with her daughter and her family.

When the cast came off, her leg was even weaker than before, and she was losing control of the muscles in the other leg. Soon she needed a walker, then a wheelchair. By April she was hospitalized. After a series of neurologists & tests - no diagnosis.

Louise was now paralyzed from the waist down, losing strength in her arms, and having trouble speaking.

She moved to town to live near her daughter. She bought a house, but it was soon clear that she couldn't live on her own - assisted living wasn't going to be an option either. She went to the villa as a palliative care patient.

Many people were suggesting the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. (that's what I always say too) Her son got her there, and after only 5 days of tests had a diagnosis - ALS - which is fatal in every case. Neither is there any effective treatment.

Louise died on September 21, 2007.

WHAT IS ALS?

ALS - also known as Lou Gehrig's disease - is a rapidly progressive neuromuscular disease. It causes motor nerve cells to die, and the voluntary muscles degenerate. However, the senses are unimpaired, and the intellect often remains unaffected.

Basically, the disease traps a healthy mind inside a body that no longer listens to its commands.

The cause of ALS is unkown.

ALS is fatal in every case, there is no effective treatment, and no cure.

80% of people with ALS die within 2-5 years of diagnosis - some within a few months.

Thank you so much for your support!!

Lori

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