Keep Fighting Gillespie

I’m Tricia and now I also have ALS, but I still want to continue to be me! If you’re like most out there maybe you don’t know what ALS is or how it affects you. I encourage everyone to go read about it online or at the ALS association website at ALS.org.

I started feeling different and falling at first and thought I was clumsy. Then as time passed my leg began to get weaker and I started losing muscle mass in my entire leg. Life for me started becoming more difficult, I could no longer go swim laps with my son, I couldn’t get in and out of my vehicle the same and I had to eventually stop working. Not only was my leg wasting away I’ve also had a lot of pain as well as the joints are being pulled in a different way and my body is trying to compensate for the loss of strength. I received my Diagnosis on March 13th of 2024 and my husband, doctor and myself all sat there in tears. I already knew this was a possibility and it was like being punched in the gut. I knew already that I wanted every life prolonging measure out there available for me and my family to live as long as possible and beyond with this diagnosis.

The reason and the peace that passes over me about the decision of wanting life prolonging measures is hard to put in words. But really it’s because I’m a mom with one of my kids still living at home. I’m a wife to my husband and I’m only 43 as I’m hearing this diagnosis and I’m not ready to call it quits on my marriage. Even though I could (if treatments don’t work) end completely paralyzed, unable to eat, unable to talk and unable to breathe on my own, THAT is OK by me. I view it as a new season of life that I want to be in even though it will be the one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and my family will ever do with me. I know I will never be able to pay back the kindness and care that people will pour into me, so let me say Thank You now if you are a person who is joining my fight to live! I’m not a millionaire so financially we will need help with medical bills, home care, breathing services, bathing, medical bills, home bills and importantly feeding tubes and portable ventilation. I believe I can be used even in living with ALS and still continue to be a mom, wife and advocate and keep fighting!

The research and the changes and treatments happening within the ALS community blow my mind. Please go see all they doing it’s incredible but currently there is no cure. It’s the short straw it is a death sentence but I would love to be able to be apart of my life and my family’s life and see my son graduate. You’re still you with ALS, you can text and do things just by moving your eyes, you can hear and you are you!

As a family and as person diagnosed with ALS I’m asking for you’re support to keep my life going and to prolong this horrible outcome as long as possible to see what treatments may come and to be able to watch and experience my family, and to be an advocate for others with ALS. I believe together we can be this team that is united and who knows maybe if the growth of this fundraising becomes more successful than I ever imagined than who knows what can happen! Annually costs for ALS patients is over $100,000 a year on average but we have a lot of travel to the ALS clinic so there are additional expenses as well plus the loss of my job and keeping the lights on to run a ventilator.

Our little Gillespie family has gone through a lot but this is huge and is going to take a village to make this possible. Please help and please share with everyone! Share with businesses, friends, family and neighbors. Post it online and learn about ALS in the mean time. I am grateful for the support and it brings tears to my eyes thinking of the chapters ahead.

If we think about the cost of donating like a cup of coffee a week to prolong a life $5/week if enough people get involved a little bit goes a long ways. So thank you to all of you who are giving a spreading the word and being apart of my life. Love to all of you from me. -Tricia