Help Doug Fight ALS #teamernst
Donation protected
In June our father, Doug Ernst, learned of his diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's or ALS. He has only recently communicated his diagnosis with our community.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
A person diagnosed with ALS may live an average life span of 2-5 years from onset. Our father's condition has progressed at an accelerated rate, where we are constantly adjusting to new challenges daily. We're having to accommodate to medical needs and physical handicaps rapidly compared to most cases.
In an effort to help fight ALS, we have partnered with the ALS Association Golden West Chapter and recently volunteered for the Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS where we helped to raise nearly one million dollars. The ALS Association Golden West Chapter is dedicated to the fight against ALS in many ways, including funding global research efforts, supporting scientific and clinical collaboration, connecting people with ALS to clinical trials, partnering with multidisciplinary ALS clinics and centers, educating the public about ALS, providing professional care management services to families facing ALS, pursuing important public policy initiatives, and bringing the ALS community together.
Since his diagnosis, we have been remodeling the family home, providing comfort care, and creating quality experiences with our father. Due to our father's quick unanticipated decline, there is an urgency in requesting financial support.
We have been very blessed by the support from our community, friends and family, and through your kind words and gestures, we have been reminded that our father has been a pillar of our community. It has been suggested that we open up a GoFundMe to support the medical and comfort care needs of our father. We have also started a link for Helping Hands, for those that would like to volunteer their time to assist us:
https://my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/doug-ernst
Sincerely,
Sarah, Rebecca, Rachelle, and Katherine
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
A person diagnosed with ALS may live an average life span of 2-5 years from onset. Our father's condition has progressed at an accelerated rate, where we are constantly adjusting to new challenges daily. We're having to accommodate to medical needs and physical handicaps rapidly compared to most cases.
In an effort to help fight ALS, we have partnered with the ALS Association Golden West Chapter and recently volunteered for the Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS where we helped to raise nearly one million dollars. The ALS Association Golden West Chapter is dedicated to the fight against ALS in many ways, including funding global research efforts, supporting scientific and clinical collaboration, connecting people with ALS to clinical trials, partnering with multidisciplinary ALS clinics and centers, educating the public about ALS, providing professional care management services to families facing ALS, pursuing important public policy initiatives, and bringing the ALS community together.
Since his diagnosis, we have been remodeling the family home, providing comfort care, and creating quality experiences with our father. Due to our father's quick unanticipated decline, there is an urgency in requesting financial support.
We have been very blessed by the support from our community, friends and family, and through your kind words and gestures, we have been reminded that our father has been a pillar of our community. It has been suggested that we open up a GoFundMe to support the medical and comfort care needs of our father. We have also started a link for Helping Hands, for those that would like to volunteer their time to assist us:
https://my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/doug-ernst
Sincerely,
Sarah, Rebecca, Rachelle, and Katherine
Fundraising team: Team Ernst (3)
Katie Beach
Organizer
Napa, CA
Carolyn Ernst
Beneficiary
Antoinette Joy
Team member
Sarah Anenson
Team member
