Help in Don's fight against ALS

As a family of Police Officers, our Father and all four kids, we've been sending our loved ones into the fight for years. Now this is our fight and we need the community's help...

On February 18th, 2022, after a year of doctors visits, tests, and painful symptoms, my brother in law Don who is 46 years old, was diagnosed with the terminal illness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) otherwise known as Lou Gerhig's Disease. ALS is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There is currently no cure for the disease and the life expectancy is 2-5 years with only 10% of those living beyond 5 years. For many people, losing function in their arms and legs, the ability to eat or speak, and breathe on their own comes much sooner.

 

According to HuffPost.com, “ALS is a very expensive disease, costing patients an estimated $300,000.00 per year. This majority of patients bankrupt their families with the cost and an even larger number simply cannot afford the cost to stay alive, so they don’t. Can you imagine having to stop being alive because it’s too expensive?”

 

Since Don’s diagnosis, his biggest worry has been about my sister Jillian; which isn’t a surprise to any of us considering how selfless Don has been from the beginning. Don came into my sister’s life during a very trying time and has effortlessly handled every hurdle that has been thrown their way since. Raising children is not easy and since day one, Don has treated my niece and nephews as his own; providing both financially and emotionally without a second thought. I couldn’t have hand picked a better man to marry my sister even if I wanted to.

 

Our goal with this GoFundMe page is to help raise money not only to incur as much as the financial need for unexpected medical expenses, wheelchair and accessibility in the home and other daily needs, but also to help Don check some things off of his bucket list as well. We want to take some burden off of Don, Jillian, and the kids, so they can focus their attention on enjoying the time they have left with each other as a family instead of worrying financially.

 

Don is such a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken and we are determined to make the time that he is with us as enjoyable, memorable, and stress free as possible.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read Don’s story and considering a donation. It means more to our family than you will ever know.