"Crew member stays positive as he fights ALS"
by Phillip B. Wilson
Indianapolis Star
May 28, 2010 (Carb Day)
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100528/SPORTS0107/5280325/1004/SPORTS/Crew-member-stays-positive-as-he-fights-ALS
Carey Hall cherishes this Indianapolis
500, perhaps more than any other. It's his
15th, working on a crew or painting cars,
and it likely will be his last over-the-
wall opportunity at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) on Jan. 10, the 40-year-
old Greenwood man's speech is slurred
and he has atrophy in his left hand from
the progressive neurodegenerative
disease that attacks nerve cells in the
brain and spinal cord.
He was supposed to fuel for Sarah Fisher
Racing's Jay Howard, but Howard didn't
qualify. So he agreed to help out Sunday
with Bruno Junqueira's No. 33 Fazzt Race
Team car.
Please take a moment and read the whole article. This is one brave man (pictured above in the Dollar General firesuit) with a remarkable attitude.
Sid Collins, the beloved voice of the Indianapolis 500 whose words, "Stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing" are still used today, died in 1977 after an ALS diagnosis. Thirty-three years later, there is still no known cause. There is no cure.
It's time for the greatest spectacle in medical research.
This should be required reading for ALS advocacy month!
ReplyDeleteI understand tne ALS Association has advocated for over a half billion dollars for ALS research. What therapies have come out of this huge expenditure of funds? I have ALS and I am only familiar with one FDA approved drug specifically for ALS. And it is supposed to extend life by a few months and cost over $800 a month. How come?
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:33, I think that those would be great questions to ask the ALS Association. This site is provided privately to promote advocacy and awareness and is not part of any ALS 501c3.
ReplyDeleteIf you are able to find the derivation of those numbers, I think a lot of people would be interested. Is the $500mil research or benefits?
Thanks for asking, but this isn't the place to get the scoop from ALSA.
In my personal opinion, the lack of results is certainly frustrating... but I believe in that same big picture that ALS research is underfunded relative to the complexity of the problem and the costs of not having a cure. Just my 2 cents.
And now back to our man with ALS and the Indy 500...
I have ALS & I am on a drug study to STOP ALS, not cure it. No one is really sure on how or why ALS starts; which is the biggest part of the problem. My drug study is funded by the Mayo Clinic, Jax, Fl. & the Mass. Gen. Hospital.
ReplyDelete