Join Us in Supporting Steve Suydam's Battle

There are times in life where we find ourselves being able to actually make a difference in someone else's life - this is where we are now.

This page/mission is dedicated to our coworker, dear friend, father, husband and grandfather, Steve Suydam.

We have all worked together for years at a Jaguar-Land Rover of Freeport, where we have always been more than coworkers - we are family. Every one of us joins in the milestones of each other's lives. Whether it's a birthday, wedding, holiday or whenever there is a reason to celebrate, we are there. When life throws us a curveball, we also feel the need to come together and help.

Two years ago, Steve married his beautiful wife, Diane and went off to Aruba for their honeymoon. Upon returning, he felt a noticeable heaviness in his legs that was never there and seemed to be getting worse over time. In addition to other small physical changes, he began to seek medical advice.

This journey of looking for answers led him to doctor appointments, test upon test, and ultimately gave him a grim diagnosis that he was not ready to hear... not one of us were ready to hear it. Although he didn't initially share the news with any of us because of his own personal boundaries, the physical changes were happening, As he pushed on working full time, ultimately it took a toll on his energy. Before he left on August 27th, he sent us this email:

"I would like to say that it has been a pleasure working with each and every one of you over the years. What a great bunch of guys and great managers. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a terminal disease in 2023. It has become difficult to walk and is getting harder to function as I have done. I'm sorry for not telling you all when you asked me what was wrong, I didn't want to get anyone upset or worried about me. Also, part of the disease is getting easily emotional. I don't want to get emotional in front of everyone.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for my disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease.) I am praying for a miracle.I have worked as long as I can. This disease has taken its toll. Farewell to all. I wish everyone the absolute best in life. You will all be missed,"

Our hearts were broken in a million ways after reading this, and we now knew that after all these months of trying to keep this horrible disease at bay - it now had become impossible.

ALS is a progressive disease that affects the nervous system in many ways - walking, motor skills and other daily simple things may become hard and may

require assistance. Knowing the road in front of Steve and his family, it is our hope to help them offset the costs that are not covered under insurance. Assistance such

as medical equipment, therapies, a scooter, care and other costs will need to be covered.This progression has no timeline, but it is now our job to jump in and make a

difference, if we can.

Steve is a fighter and with his family and friends behind him, we will be of assistance in a meaningful way. This is a way we can help with our open hearts.

We have set up this page in order to help our friends and show them that they are never fighting alone.

Thank you so much!