Greetings family and friends!

It’s that time of year again!  Time to gear up for the Walk to Defeat ALS!

19 years ago on February 7th, 2002 my grandfather was taken too soon at the age of 58 from ALS.  ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a deadly disease with no cause or cure.  It affects the motor neurons in a person’s brain and spinal cord.  When the motor neurons die, the muscle waste away and the person insidiously becomes paralyzed.  Over months, a person is robbed of the ability to walk, speak, eat and eventually breathe.  Upon diagnosis, doctors typically give ALS patients two to five years to live.  

For 5 years, my family and I watched this awful disease eat away at my grandfather, leaving us feeling helpless and distraught. My grandfather faced this disease head on, with courage and strength, even while knowing that every day was one day closer to the end. He never once expressed any fear or anger. 

The 2021 walk to Defeat ALS will be my 15th consecutive walk. People living with ALS face far greater challenges than the short walk I am about to take.  So I walk in memory of my grandfather, for the ALS victims of today who can’t walk at all, and for the victims of tomorrow who will be slowly robbed of their ability to move. 

Thank you for your support. 

Sincerely,

Jennifer (Wilkey) Beckman