For the past two years, my husband, Michael, has been battling serious medical issues. Initially, it started with poor balance and muscle atrophy which led to difficulties walking. Following an MRI, in August 2017, the doctors performed a laminectomy with fusion to decompress the nerves in his spine. Although he had improvement initially, in April 2018, he began to experience a rapid deterioration and ended up from walking with a cane to eventually ending up in a power wheelchair due to the severe atrophy in his body. After a month-long hospital stay and a long list of medical testing to determine what was causing this condition, an EMG revealed that Michael had ALS, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. It is 100% fatal and in 80 years since its discovery there has been no advancements in finding a cure.

Being his primary caregiver, I could no longer lift, move, or care for him on my own. The choices were to hire 24-hour care for Mike or have him go into a nursing home. I couldn’t bring myself to put Mike into a home and we certainly didn’t have the means to hire someone 24/7 to care for Mike in our home. Mike and I approached my son Matthew, age 21, and asked him to take a break from college and care for his father. A selfless sacrifice that no child should have to make but provided what could be described as the ultimate gift, providing help to care for his father.

Mike has always been a giver. He has always been the devoted husband, father, and always made sure he was there for others when help was needed. He always loved being at the baseball field coaching and watching our boys, Matt and Josh, play ball, and being around friends and the community.

My boys and I wish the best for Mike. We wish him to be able to continue the ALS medication that shows promise in slowing down the disease. We wish him to be comfortable and be able to have the means to communicate with us when the time comes that he is unable to talk. We wish to ease the everyday financial hardships that we face with this disease. We ask your help to fight this disease and make life financially easier. We also ask for daily prayers for Mike and our family.

God Bless.