Help Cam Noble-Montour And His Family In His Battle With ALS

Cam Noble-Montour has always been known as someone you can count on. Whether as a loving father, a caring husband, brother, cousin, friend or co-worker. Everyone who knows him, knows him for fun loving attitude, joking demeanor, and of course his love for the heaviest metal. Cam is not one to ask for help, or look to other to solve his problems, but right now Cam and his family need your support fighting an awful nervous system disease, ALS.

Towards the end of 2021, when Cam was only 31, he began noticing a twitching in his right arm and hand. This twitching would continue day and night, even while sleeping. Over the following months the symptoms would spread to his left arm, followed by the rest of his body. Head to toe, Cam began losing strength and control over his fine motor skills. By November of 2022 he had developed drop foot, a condition which makes it difficult to lift your toes, and often leads to trips and falls. Before long Cam was finding it impossible to do the things he loved; play music, work as a lineman, or play with his kids and dogs as he used to.

Cam continued to work as a lineman and struggle with the symptoms as doctors tried to determine the cause. As ALS is typically something found in older people (typical age of diagnosis is 55), doctors struggled to find the cause of the symptoms. One doctor suggested it could be ALS, but Cam was so young that they should continue searching as it would be unusual for this to be the cause. At another point in time, it was thought to be Lyme disease with several co-infections. Much time and energy was spent looking at the wrong disease. Cam visited with specialists across Canada and the United States, blood tests were even sent to Germany with no positive conclusion. By August of 2023 Cam could no longer perform his duties at work and was forced to quit, despite overwhelming support from his boss, Dan Speal, and co-workers. The beginning of 2024 saw Cam lose most function in all four of his limbs. By March, his wife Chelsey, was forced to also quit working in order to help Cam at home. In June Cam suffered two blood clots in his lungs. Cam had to watch his brother win the Stanley Cup from a hospital bed, a bittersweet moment for a very proud big brother. He would have given everything to be there and share the moment. In July 2024 a diagnosis was finally reached, ALS.

For those that don't know, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS, is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control. The disease gets worse over time. The exact cause of the disease is still not known. ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing or slurred speech. Eventually ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. There is no cure for this fatal disease.

By November of 2024 Cam could no longer walk, even with assistance. In the time since November, Cam has become bound to his wheelchair. He cannot move his arms at all, and he can only move his legs a small bit. Talking is difficult and as a result communicating with loved ones has become challenging. Cam and Chelsey's home was not accessible for Cams newly developed challenges. Cams parents have welcomed them into their home to help provide an accessible environment for him. However this is far from his daughters school. The girls, Parker and Peyton, still live in the Windsor area with their biological mother in order to attend their public school and have their friends around them. Cams step daughter Aryanna also lives with her biological father in the same area. For those that don't know, Cams parents live in Six Nations, west of Hamilton. About three hours in each direction from Windsor.

The costs of all the initial medical care in the US, the costs of traveling all over Ontario and across the border to try to find a diagnosis, plus all the subsequent costs for treatment since have lead to financial hardship for Cam and his girls (Chelsey, Parker, Peyton, and Aryanna). It is often overlooked just how expensive it can be to have a drastic change in health. Medical equipment, modifications to the home and vehicle, physio appointments, custom devices and care plans - none of it comes cheap. Even the cost to get the girls back and forth from their home in Windsor and Cam in Six Nations is challenging with todays cost of living. Neither Cam or Chelsey have been able to work since mid 2023 and early 2024 respectively. This has lead toa significant draw down in their own savings as well as their families.

I am asking you to dig deep for Cam. His family needs support addressing their medical bills, their cost of living, and trying to provide a future way for Cam to protect his family and ensure they are left with something when he is no longer here to provide for them. There is no cure for what Cam is suffering through, but we can support him and his family as best as we can.

Cam is a special guy, every person reading this can think of at least one moment where Cam went out of his way for us, probably dozens of moments. Every person reading this can think of hundreds, probably thousands of memories where Cam made you smile, probably laugh. Let's try to put a smile on his face this time around and show him how much we care.

Thank you in advance to everyone who can contribute to the cost!