CoY fights ALS
Donation protected
With ALS awareness night on February 3, 2018 for the University of Michigan hockey game vs Wisconsin, the Children of Yost (student section for Michigan Hockey) would like to raise money to donate to the Matzka family to help with the rising medical costs.
Scott's story is below.
Scott Matzka is a 38 year old father of two that was diagnosed with ALS September of 2015. This is his story.
From Port Huron, Michigan, to an NCAA national championship at the University of Michigan to a highly successful 11-year professional career in North American and European leagues - Scott Matzka's entire life has been a continuing ice hockey success story. Throughout his career, he has excelled as a highly decorated player, coach and mentor.
In 2012, Scott left professional hockey and entered the business world, working first for Maestro, a software developer in Kalamazoo, MI, and later the Phoenix Group, industrial consultants in Springboro, OH.
As a professional athlete, Scott has spent a lifetime paying close attention to his body and the signals it sends him. So he took notice in the summer of 2014 when he began to experience stiffening in his fingers, cramping and eventually muscle twitches and tremors. What followed was a seemingly endless string of consultations and tests - MRIs of the brain and spine, electromyography (EMG) and neuroconductivity evaluations.
After a referral to the University of Michigan and further tests, doctors diagnosed Scott with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weaken and waste away (atrophy). Eventually, the ability of the brain to start and control voluntary movement is lost. Most people with ALS die due to respiratory failure, typically within three to five years from the onset of symptoms. The cause of ALS is unknown and there is no cure.
For more information on Scott, upcoming events, and more, please visit the website below.
http://scottmatzka.com/
Scott's story is below.
Scott Matzka is a 38 year old father of two that was diagnosed with ALS September of 2015. This is his story.
From Port Huron, Michigan, to an NCAA national championship at the University of Michigan to a highly successful 11-year professional career in North American and European leagues - Scott Matzka's entire life has been a continuing ice hockey success story. Throughout his career, he has excelled as a highly decorated player, coach and mentor.
In 2012, Scott left professional hockey and entered the business world, working first for Maestro, a software developer in Kalamazoo, MI, and later the Phoenix Group, industrial consultants in Springboro, OH.
As a professional athlete, Scott has spent a lifetime paying close attention to his body and the signals it sends him. So he took notice in the summer of 2014 when he began to experience stiffening in his fingers, cramping and eventually muscle twitches and tremors. What followed was a seemingly endless string of consultations and tests - MRIs of the brain and spine, electromyography (EMG) and neuroconductivity evaluations.
After a referral to the University of Michigan and further tests, doctors diagnosed Scott with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weaken and waste away (atrophy). Eventually, the ability of the brain to start and control voluntary movement is lost. Most people with ALS die due to respiratory failure, typically within three to five years from the onset of symptoms. The cause of ALS is unknown and there is no cure.
For more information on Scott, upcoming events, and more, please visit the website below.
http://scottmatzka.com/
Organizer
John Bartman
Organizer
Ann Arbor, MI
