To our friends and family in the ALS community

Crystal Sparrow needs our support! As some of you may know, Crystal was recently and very unexpectedly diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

This horrible disease means she is unable to work to support herself or her family. Your donations will displace some of that crucial loss of income and help cover mounting medical and living expenses so that Crystal may focus on her health and loved ones at this time.

Our goal with this fundraiser is to ensure that Crystal can live her best life possible with ALS. We want to ensure that she can remain at home with her beautiful family making memories while she can, without the added stress of the financial burden the disease is creating.

The impact of ALS on our family has been unimaginable. In 2008 our Matriarch, Mary Royal (Crystal’s mom) was also diagnosed with ALS and passed in June 2009. Later that year the family started the Mary RoyALS Cause to help raise awareness for this debilitating disease and help other families in need. From weekend flea markets, to bottle drives, online garage sales and so much more, our community has been able to raise and donate in excess of $119, 145.00 not including what we have collected yet this year.

How will the funds be used?

While the ALS society of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and Health care system in Nova Scotia will provide the basic equipment needed, there are many things not covered. All funds raised will go directly towards Crystal’s health care, home care, equipment and home renovation requirements. Anything over and above what is needed for Crystal’s care will be allocated back to the ALS society. Equipment purchased will be paid forward to other ALS victims.

More about ALS:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and respiratory system failure. This disease attacks cells in both the brain and spinal cord that are necessary to the body’s functional mobility. Symptoms often begin as mild twitching and cramping, weakness in the arms and legs, and difficulties swallowing or speaking. As ALS progresses, individuals experience an increasing inability to move any part of the body and often become completely dependent on a feeding tube for nutrition. There is no cure for ALS. The available treatments have only been shown to slow the progression and extend survival by a few months.

In Canada, about 3,000 people are living with ALS and about 1,000 die each year. ALS is a complex disorder and research has been greatly underfunded. There are, however, many new treatments being researched, that have the potential to slow the progression or manage symptoms. Sadly, space in clinical trials is very limited and less than 10% of ALS patients are eligible to participate.