Simone Brewster's ALS Medical Fund
Donation protected
On November 5, 2015 my mom Simone Brewster (Burghdoff), was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Simone is 54 years old from Dewitt, Michigan. She is a mother with four children and six grandchildren and has happily been married for 21 years.
ALS is one of the rarest and sadly the worst disease that any person can be diagnosed with. "ALS usually strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and approximately 20,000 Americans can have the disease at any given time" (taken from alsa.org). There is no cure for it and it is a disease that to this day still puzzles doctors as they do not know what causes it to begin.
For those who do not know what ALS is or why it is such a scary thing, let me inform you. "A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment – "No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region" (taken from alsa.org). It is a muscular disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The motor neurons are attacked and ultimately die. When the neurons die the brain can no longer initiate and control the muscle movement. The onset can be slow but once it starts progressing it can happen fast. My mom's has started in her legs and will work its way up, therefore she will become wheelchair bound in an unknown amount of time. She will eventually lose her ability to to use her arms, talk, eat, and breathe. The hardest part is that we have no time frame. The doctors have given her six months to one year, but it could be shorter it could be longer.
In the months to come my family is going to face a lot of challenges and changes. Once she loses her ability to swallow she will have to get a tracheostomy to assist her breathing and a feeding tube. The medical bills that we will be faced with are only a piece of the money we are hoping to raise. We have to make our house wheelchair accessible which means remodeling the bathroom, tearing out a wall to expand the bathroom, and adding a bedroom downstairs. Once the time comes that my mom can no longer work my dad will have to quit his job to take care of her, which means that I will be the only one in the house with an income as well as being a full time college student. We will have to buy a chair stairlift and a wheelchair to help with her mobility while she is still able. We are hoping to get an appointment at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland to find out if there are any clinical trials that she can partake in. That adds traveling expenses to get there from Michigan, hotel fees, food, ect.
You never understand the saying that life can change in the blink of an eye until it happens to you. My mom has always been our family's greatest supporter. She has taken care of all of us when we need it and now it is our time to return the favor. If you are able to donate even $5 it will help us reach our goal and we will be forever grateful for anyone who can help us out.
Simone is 54 years old from Dewitt, Michigan. She is a mother with four children and six grandchildren and has happily been married for 21 years.
ALS is one of the rarest and sadly the worst disease that any person can be diagnosed with. "ALS usually strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and approximately 20,000 Americans can have the disease at any given time" (taken from alsa.org). There is no cure for it and it is a disease that to this day still puzzles doctors as they do not know what causes it to begin.
For those who do not know what ALS is or why it is such a scary thing, let me inform you. "A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment – "No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region" (taken from alsa.org). It is a muscular disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The motor neurons are attacked and ultimately die. When the neurons die the brain can no longer initiate and control the muscle movement. The onset can be slow but once it starts progressing it can happen fast. My mom's has started in her legs and will work its way up, therefore she will become wheelchair bound in an unknown amount of time. She will eventually lose her ability to to use her arms, talk, eat, and breathe. The hardest part is that we have no time frame. The doctors have given her six months to one year, but it could be shorter it could be longer.
In the months to come my family is going to face a lot of challenges and changes. Once she loses her ability to swallow she will have to get a tracheostomy to assist her breathing and a feeding tube. The medical bills that we will be faced with are only a piece of the money we are hoping to raise. We have to make our house wheelchair accessible which means remodeling the bathroom, tearing out a wall to expand the bathroom, and adding a bedroom downstairs. Once the time comes that my mom can no longer work my dad will have to quit his job to take care of her, which means that I will be the only one in the house with an income as well as being a full time college student. We will have to buy a chair stairlift and a wheelchair to help with her mobility while she is still able. We are hoping to get an appointment at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland to find out if there are any clinical trials that she can partake in. That adds traveling expenses to get there from Michigan, hotel fees, food, ect.
You never understand the saying that life can change in the blink of an eye until it happens to you. My mom has always been our family's greatest supporter. She has taken care of all of us when we need it and now it is our time to return the favor. If you are able to donate even $5 it will help us reach our goal and we will be forever grateful for anyone who can help us out.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ashley Brewster
Organizer
DeWitt, MI
Ralph Brewster
Beneficiary
