Please Help the Canton Family as they Battle #ALS

“At this point, all I can control is my attitude. This insidious disease will take my ability to walk, to eat, to talk, and eventually to even breathe. But it will never take my Faith, my Fight, my Hope, or my Love. ALS will not define me, only I am in control of that.”

Those were the words that Mitch Canton gave his family after learning of his ALS diagnosis.

Now, the Canton family is in the fight of their life, as loving husband, proud father, and active community member Mitch Canton battles the cruel, ruthless, and 100% fatal disease ALS.

Mitch was diagnosed with ALS in spring of 2021, and life for the Canton family was forever changed. The disease progressively stole Mitch's ability to work, coach, play, and simply live the active, engaged life he had created - and the terminal nature of diagnosis has shaken the family to their core.

Blessed to have 'married up' to his high school sweetheart Melanie, and the willing co-creator of three incredible kids (Aaron, Joshua, and Elizabeth), Mitch and the entire family now gear up for this overwhelming battle.

ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurological disorder that damages nerve cells, affecting motor neurons (the nerve cells that control voluntary movements) causing them to shrink and die. With the loss of these nerve cells, the brain is no longer able to move muscles or control muscle movement.

As Mitch said, “It’s kind of like winning the reverse lotto, about 1 in 50,000 people are diagnosed with ALS each year. Over 90% those cases are totally random, with no known cause. My number just came up.”

As a former local business owner, youth sports coach, church committee member, and tireless community advocate and volunteer over the past two decades, if anyone can tackle this disease, #mitchcan.

But he and his family can't do it alone. As Mitch battles the physical side of this brutal disease, the entire family must also work through the emotional and financial struggles it creates.

Until his diagnosis, Mitch ran a local community-oriented website. Melanie is a paraeducator for special needs school children. While both are worthwhile and impactful careers, nobody was getting rich. And now the costs to care for ALS start to cascade down upon them.

Because of the extensive medical and physical accommodations needed to care for patients, ALS is one of the most expensive health battles a family can face. A National Institute of Health (NIH) report showed that the average ‘disease duration’ cost of ALS related care to be over $1.43 million dollars. While much of that is covered by insurance, many medical care costs and almost all of the physical accommodations expenses are borne by the patient and their families.

Please consider a donation to assist the Canton family in their time of need.

The proceeds of this fundraiser are expected to be used as follows:

Assistance with personal medical and home health care;

Making accessibility (wheelchair ramps, etc) accomodations to living areas;

Purchase of living assistance devices (such as specialty chairs) not covered by insurance;

Other items as needed to help care for the physical deterioration caused by this devastating disease.

The entire Canton family thanks you in advance for any help you can offer in this fundraiser.

If you are not able to make a donation at this time, please do keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as they battle this horrible disease. And please share this page with family, friends, and others who might be able to help the family. Thank you and God Bless.