Lou Gehrig's Disease needs a cure
Bob Hughes, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, August 03, 2007


He is only 58 years old. He no longer can speak. He can barely move. He is confined to a wheelchair. He can communicate only with the help of a computer. He is fed through a tube surgically inserted into his stomach. And, likely soon, he will die because there is no cure for the disease that has stripped him of everything, except the love of his family and the support of his friends. His name is Jim Kazeil, and he lives with his wife Chris and their family in Nanaimo, B.C.

Jim Kazeil, whose parents settled in southwestern Saskatchewan and farmed after coming from Lebanon, once worked and lived in Regina. That was long before he ended up in B.C. with his new wife Chris and found out that his life was beginning to change. In the spring of 2003, Jim was taking sailing lessons when he tripped and toppled off the boat. It was just another in a series of unexpected falls. His brother-in-law Bob Burns, a doctor, was with him. They decided that Jim should undergo some tests to explain the falls. An almost nightmarish round of tests, drugs and misdiagnoses followed. Still, no answer to what was wrong with Jim Kazeil. Finally, the medical community found out what was wrong. Jim Kazeil was suffering from an incurable disease called ALS. It is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease because it attacked and eventually killed the former great New York Yankee.

Simply put, this is one of the most vicious diseases known to mankind. It has no cure. It wins every battle. What started out as a few falls for Jim turned into a full scale attack by the disease on Jim's body. He has gone from using a cane to a walker to a wheelchair. He cannot move at all except for partial movement of his head. The disease attacks nerve cells, especially those in the spinal cord that control the voluntary muscles throughout the body. When those muscles fail to receive messages from diseased nerves, they eventually lose strength and die. But the mind and the senses of the disease's victims are not touched. Jim Kazeil, at 58 years of age, a proud husband, grandparent and father, is unable to walk, talk, smile, eat, write or even breathe. Yet, he is completely aware of everything that is going on around him. It is no fun, this deadly intruder on what once was a happy and healthy life.

You likely know somebody in our part of the country who suffers from ALS, or has suffered from it. I know I do. And, thus, the battle to find a cure for this disease intensifies and takes on a more personal note. It is like any other disease. Until you are touched by it in some way, it leaves your mind and you don't think about it.

There are always fundraisers going on to find cures for diseases. And ALS is no exception. There is one going on in Nanaimo on Aug. 25, organized in large part by Jim and Chris' daughter, Shauna. It's being called the ALS Adventure Challenge. It'll involve trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. Every cent of the money raised will go to research to find a cure for ALS and to support people living with the disease.

The family is reaching out to everyone everywhere to make donations to the Aug. 25 event. It really doesn't matter if the money is being sent to support a B.C. event because when a cure is found, it will benefit the world. Jim Kazeil will never benefit from a cure because the disease has already taken most of his body away from him. But, he remains committed to doing whatever it takes to find a cure so nobody else will have to go through what he has and is going through. Anyone who wants to support the fundraiser can do so by going to www.jimkazeil.com, or by dropping in at Suds Car Wash in Regina and asking for Joe or Kirby Kazeil, who operate the wash. Joe is Jim's brother.

"It's a terrible disease," Joe says. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone." n Bob Hughes can be contacted at bobhughes@sasktel.net


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© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007