Hi Family & Friends!

I wanted to let you know that we are participating in the Les Turner ALS Virtual Walk For Life on Saturday, September 18th to support my mom, Eloise with her fight against ALS. This foundation is near and dear to our heart as the Les Turner Clinic within Northwestern Hospital is where my mom has her quarterly ALS clinic appointments. The doctors, nurses and social workers have been there for her and our family every step of the way providing exceptional care, guidance when we felt overwhelmed and medical equipment as new symptoms arose. They truly do so much good, and I want to help give back in any way that I can.

After experiencing sudden slurred speech and progressive weakness in her hands and arms in August of 2018, my mom spent the next few months seeing countless doctors and was ultimately diagnosed with ALS in January 2019 right after her 70th birthday. It was a devastating diagnosis to her and to our whole family. Since being diagnosed my mom has progressed significantly. She has now lost the ability to walk, speak, use her hands, and relies solely on her G-tube (feeding tube) for her daily nourishment, hydration & medications. 

Although my mom relies on us & her incredible  home health nurses for all of her self care, she has been so brave and positive through it all. She is doing everything she can to continue living her life to the absolute fullest. She has learned to communicate with us through her Tobii Dynavox eye gaze computer, which attaches to her motorized wheelchair. With the device she’s able to use her eyes to communicate words and phrases. Most recently she’s started using it to send text messages and communicate on Facebook with her friends and family. My mom is a true inspiration to us all!

We know this is such a difficult time in the world, and we are hoping to make a positive difference. ALS is a scary disease that currently has no cure, but we are doing everything we can to change this. The ALS Virtual Walk format still allows teams to fundraise in honor of a loved one with ALS and gather together for smaller walks around their own community, which we plan to do. All the money raised from the ALS Virtual Walk for Life goes directly back to the Les Turner ALS Clinic in Chicago where my mom is being cared for by an amazing team.

Please mark your calendars if you'd like to participate with us or in your own community, and click on the link to Join our Team. If you'd like to support my mom and others living with ALS by donating, you can do so on our page.

For more information about ALS or the Les Turner ALS Foundation, you can visit lesturnerals.org.

Thank you so much for all of your love & support!

Terri