Yesterday I attended my fourth Walk to Defeat ALS. This year I designed shirts that we could all wear to support our team, called Jo’s Kids after my Mom of course. Even with a small printing omission I think they turned out quite nice and everybody seemed to enjoy them. Plus it was nice presenting a unified front with all the other teams that have coordinating t-shirts.

Walkers this year are (l-r): John, Narcisso, Deidre (front), Butch (rear), Waima, Landon, Keli, Isabelle, Kelly, Chuck A. (rear), Will & Sarah Jane (in stroller), Dad, Jacki, Chuck H.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. You can help in the fight against this horrible disease by donating here.