Windsorites walk for ALS

Bill Maden, who is currently living with ALS in Windsor, was escorted down the Ganatchio Trail by friends and family during the 10th annual ALS walk Sunday, September 14, 2014. (Photo By Taylor Busch)

Many members of the Windsor Lancer football team came out to support ALS research by walking and completing the Ice Bucket Challenge earlier this summer. Joe D’Amore, head coach, said some players have already lost family and friends to the disease which is why it was vital for them to participate in this year’s walk. (Photo By Taylor Busch)

By Taylor Busch

Nearly 500 residents took part in Sunday’s ALS walk along the Ganatchio Trail in Windsor.

ALS – three letters that change people’s lives forever. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a rapidly progressive, neuromuscular disease that attacks every part of the body except the mind. According to ALS Canada, every day nearly three thousand Canadians are treated for it and 0.1 per cent die from it. Unlike cancer or other neurodegenerative disorders, ALS has no known cure and many treatments to slow its progression fail. Until recently, many Canadians only heard about the disease when someone close to them was diagnosed with it or died from it and awareness was very limited.

Then, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral. Pete Frates, a former college baseball player living with the disease, is credited for being the first person to tie ALS to the challenge. After Frates nominated his friends to take the challenge for him or make a donation towards ALS research, awareness for the disease began to skyrocket. Suddenly, Americans and Canadians who had never heard of Lou Gehrig’s disease were willing to empty their pockets for it. Many Windsorites who walked for ALS on Sunday later admitted they would probably still not know about the disease if not for the challenge.

Sharon Colman, long-time president for the ALS Society of Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, said Sunday was the best turnout they’ve had in ten years. The walk, which was started by the Beattie family of Windsor, is very different from other charity walks because most of the participants and volunteers have not lived with the disease. Of the 500 people in attendance on Sunday, only two of them are current ALS patients.

“This event has always focused on celebrating the lives we’ve lost, but maybe that’s starting to change,” said Colman. “We’re very, very fortunate and grateful to get this size of a turnout and we certainly hope everyone will come back next year.”

Since neither of the men with ALS can speak, their wives spoke for them. Peggy Barrette became emotional as she described the support she and her husband George have received from the ALS Society since 2004. Jill Maden, whose husband Bill also suffers from ALS, said she is grateful for the aids and assistance the ALS Society gives them which allow him to continue living at home. Both women also talked in great detail of their overwhelming gratitude for Colman who has given them everything they needed and more since day one.

“The ALS Society has been absolutely fantastic up to this point and I don’t know what we’d do without them,” said Maden. “We try to remain positive but this disease is so unpredictable we can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

Linda Scaife, a volunteer for the walk, said her family continues to have a very positive experience with Colman and the ALS Society years after the death of her father Frank. Like many of the other volunteers present, Scaife said she participated in the walk with her father several times while he was sick, but began volunteering her time in his memory after he died. She and her family members said they have never felt an obligation to repay the charity, but choose to show appreciation for the support they continue to receive from meetings held each month at the Hospice of Windsor.

“I continue to volunteer for this organization now because I know how much it helps families and patients who are diagnosed,” said Scaife. “All the money that’s raised stays right here to help these people. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Though Colman said the ALS Society reached their goal for funds and awareness at this walk, they will certainly need more throughout the year. Without the services and supplies they give to local families, experts estimate it could cost between $150 and $200 thousand per year to care for just one sick relative at home. To find out more about ALS or make a donation visit www.alswindsor.ca.