Nancy Rea beat the odds of ALS for a long time
A Bermuda Run resident, she died at 51, but her determination and spirit live on in family, friends


By Lisa O'Donnell
JOURNAL REPORTER




Nancy Rea (2001 photo) and her husband, David, were childhood sweethearts.
(Journal File Photo)



BERMUDA RUN

In 1992, Nancy Rea learned that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Most people with ALS die less than five years after their conditions are diagnosed.

A strong faith, the will to see her children grow up and good medical care helped Rea buck the odds, friends and family said.

On June 24, Rea, 51, lost her struggle with the disease. She died at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center after a short bout with pneumonia.

“She couldn’t fight it off,” said David Rea, her husband of 31 years.

Rea is survived by four children, Sarah, Alissa, Mary Justin and Thomas, and scores of friends who continued to seek her advice even though the disease severely limited her ability to communicate.

Karen Dalton was one such friend.

“I could tell by what she was thinking by a roll of her eyes, a little grin on her face,” Dalton said. “I always went over there for therapy. She just helped me, even with small things.”

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease is marked by progressive muscle weakness that results in paralysis. There is no cure.

Within two years of her diagnosis, Rea was wheelchair-bound. Eventually, muscle weakness and paralysis spread throughout her body.

Despite her physical limitations, Rea stayed active. Using a special computer, she spent long hours typing e-mails to family and friends. She traveled with her family around the United States and to Europe. Not long ago, she met Katie Couric at an ALS gala in New York.

A few weeks before Rea got pneumonia, she and her family went to see Roger Waters, the former singer for Pink Floyd, in concert in Chicago.

“She just wanted to see as much as life and be around her kids as much as possible. She was determined she was going to beat the odds, and she certainly did,” said Susie Marion, a longtime friend.

Since 2000, Rea’s friends and family rallied on her behalf to form one of the largest teams for the annual “Walk to D’Feet ALS” in Winston-Salem. Money from the walk is used for ALS research and to support programs coordinated by the state’s ALS association.

The team, dubbed “Reas of Sunshine, Reas of Hope,” sometimes had as many as 300 walkers. Jerry Dawson, the president and chief executive officer of the Jim “Catfish” Hunter chapter of the ALS association, said Rea’s teams were among the biggest in the state. Her teams have raised more than $100,000 since they began walking seven years ago.

Marion said that the “Reas of Sunshine” will be at this year’s ALS walk, which will be Oct. 13.

“We have to carry on this legacy,” Marion said. “She was an amazing lady.”

Rea and her husband were strong supporters of the soccer program at Forsyth Country Day School. Their children played at the school, whose soccer stadium is called Nancy K. Rea Stadium. She was a fixture at games, watching them from her wheelchair on a platform near the press box, said Chris Turner, the school’s soccer coach.

An access road that leads from the parking lot to the stadium was built with Rea in mind, Turner said.

He said that the soccer teams will come up with a way to honor Rea this season.

“Definitely, there will be tributes from Forsyth Country Day’s end,” Turner said.

■ Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lo’donnell@wsjournal.com.