Debbie Ballard's ALS Medical Fund
Donation protected
My Mom, Debbie Ballard, was an out going person that loved to the gym on a regular basis trying to get in shape like any other adult her age. Mom also loved working outside in the flower garden with her amazing green thumb and cook on the grill.
In July of 2015, Mom started noticing that her foot was not working right and her hip was really hurting when she went to the gym.She battle through and continued to work outside as much as possible.
In September of 2015, we really noticed things starting to change with Mom, she really started having more trouble with her knee and her hip on the left side of her body. We went to the family doctor, who sent her to Physical Therapy. We then were sent to a Spine doctor. After many MRI's and CT Scans, doctors were still struggling to figure out what was going on with mom. She was working full time, but spending so much money on tests and other specialist to not get any answers.
After months of battling, we were finally sent to a Neurologist to see what was going on in February of 2016. The neurologist ran a asked an in depth medical history and completed massive amount of tests, including an EMG (Eletromygraph Test) that put little needles throughout different parts of her body to test the function of each. After waiting a while, the Neurologist came back in the room with a heavy chest and told Mom that she was 99% sure that she had ALS (amyotrophic laterals sclerosis), which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. We were devastated to hear the news and prognosis that Mom could have only 4-8 years to live and of those years there was no telling what kind of physical and emotional changes would take place. The Neurologist wanted to send Mom to an ALS specialist in the office to confirm.
In April of 2016, myself, my brother, my grandmother and Mom all went together to meet Dr. Brooks (the ALS specialist). It was a 2 day evaluation with roughly 10 doctors that ran all kinds of tests such as respiratory tests, physical tests, speech tests, nutrition questionnaires, and psychological questionnaires. These two days were the most draining days and heartbreaking days when after meeting with the ALS doctor, he confirmed that Mom showed the signs of ALS and that we would be starting on this journey that would change all of our lives forever.
During this entire experience, Mom continued to work full time, go the gym as much as possible and work outside. Mom moved in with me right before summer of 2016, but continued to live her life as she was, to the best ability she could. In May of 2016, we went to our first ALS clinic. This clinic involved all the the doctors we had previously seen and roughly 25 other ALS patients from around NC, at all different stages of the disease. It was a brutal, heartbreaking full day of tests and talking with patients and their families.
In the fall of 2016, Mom started having a lot of trouble walking. When going to our clinic in the fall, Mom was fitting for a very expensive pair of braces for both legs that would help stabilize her legs and keep it from "flopping". She was also fit for a wheelchair and cane at this time. From this appointment on, Mom never walked without assistance again and it was hard to watch this independent woman begin to lose that independence she loved so much.
By December 2016, it was getting hard for Mom to work, her legs were not working right and she couldn't get up and down well at work. Her fingers started to have problems when typing and everything was just getting harder to do. She was put on disability at this time, but found out that her position was being terminated in January and she would be losing her health benefits. Social Security Disability could be be activated until July of 2017 and therefore she would either have to go without medical insurance, or get the federal insurance until her other would kick in.
Today, Mom stays at home most of the day while I work and has lost a lot of her freedom to do what she wants. She is still a loving woman who misses seeing her friends and family whenever she wants. Right now we do not have a ramp outside so she cannot easily nagivate to and from the car or go outside in the back yard. Medical bill have been piling up with disability being less than she is used to getting, the new insurance not covering as much as well as just having to go to and from doctors all the time (gas, copays, etc.). We continue to go to these clinics every 3 months for mom to get checked and make sure she is doing okay. Right now she is using a walker full time, but does still have the will to get around when she can. She has her good days and her bad days, but is trying to stay as positive as she can through this experience.
In July of 2015, Mom started noticing that her foot was not working right and her hip was really hurting when she went to the gym.She battle through and continued to work outside as much as possible.
In September of 2015, we really noticed things starting to change with Mom, she really started having more trouble with her knee and her hip on the left side of her body. We went to the family doctor, who sent her to Physical Therapy. We then were sent to a Spine doctor. After many MRI's and CT Scans, doctors were still struggling to figure out what was going on with mom. She was working full time, but spending so much money on tests and other specialist to not get any answers.
After months of battling, we were finally sent to a Neurologist to see what was going on in February of 2016. The neurologist ran a asked an in depth medical history and completed massive amount of tests, including an EMG (Eletromygraph Test) that put little needles throughout different parts of her body to test the function of each. After waiting a while, the Neurologist came back in the room with a heavy chest and told Mom that she was 99% sure that she had ALS (amyotrophic laterals sclerosis), which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. We were devastated to hear the news and prognosis that Mom could have only 4-8 years to live and of those years there was no telling what kind of physical and emotional changes would take place. The Neurologist wanted to send Mom to an ALS specialist in the office to confirm.
In April of 2016, myself, my brother, my grandmother and Mom all went together to meet Dr. Brooks (the ALS specialist). It was a 2 day evaluation with roughly 10 doctors that ran all kinds of tests such as respiratory tests, physical tests, speech tests, nutrition questionnaires, and psychological questionnaires. These two days were the most draining days and heartbreaking days when after meeting with the ALS doctor, he confirmed that Mom showed the signs of ALS and that we would be starting on this journey that would change all of our lives forever.
During this entire experience, Mom continued to work full time, go the gym as much as possible and work outside. Mom moved in with me right before summer of 2016, but continued to live her life as she was, to the best ability she could. In May of 2016, we went to our first ALS clinic. This clinic involved all the the doctors we had previously seen and roughly 25 other ALS patients from around NC, at all different stages of the disease. It was a brutal, heartbreaking full day of tests and talking with patients and their families.
In the fall of 2016, Mom started having a lot of trouble walking. When going to our clinic in the fall, Mom was fitting for a very expensive pair of braces for both legs that would help stabilize her legs and keep it from "flopping". She was also fit for a wheelchair and cane at this time. From this appointment on, Mom never walked without assistance again and it was hard to watch this independent woman begin to lose that independence she loved so much.
By December 2016, it was getting hard for Mom to work, her legs were not working right and she couldn't get up and down well at work. Her fingers started to have problems when typing and everything was just getting harder to do. She was put on disability at this time, but found out that her position was being terminated in January and she would be losing her health benefits. Social Security Disability could be be activated until July of 2017 and therefore she would either have to go without medical insurance, or get the federal insurance until her other would kick in.
Today, Mom stays at home most of the day while I work and has lost a lot of her freedom to do what she wants. She is still a loving woman who misses seeing her friends and family whenever she wants. Right now we do not have a ramp outside so she cannot easily nagivate to and from the car or go outside in the back yard. Medical bill have been piling up with disability being less than she is used to getting, the new insurance not covering as much as well as just having to go to and from doctors all the time (gas, copays, etc.). We continue to go to these clinics every 3 months for mom to get checked and make sure she is doing okay. Right now she is using a walker full time, but does still have the will to get around when she can. She has her good days and her bad days, but is trying to stay as positive as she can through this experience.
Organizer and beneficiary
Harvey Elmore
Organizer
Belmont, NC
Deborah Ballard
Beneficiary