Make a pitch for Lou Gehrig tomorrow


02/13/2008 01:00 AM EST



Tomorrow is an important date for you to remember. And not just because it's Valentine's Day, although that does factor into the story here in a roundabout way.

Down in Florida, tomorrow is when Red Sox pitchers and catchers are due to report to Fort Myers. Training camp is about to begin. Spring can't be that far away.

Right here in Rhode Island, some dedicated people are gearing up for the baseball season as well. They're not stretching or running sprints but they are doing a lot of heavy lifting for the Rhode Island Chapter of the ALS Association, putting together an Opening Day Raffle to raise funds for patient support programs here in our state.

The raffle prizes, I'm told, are well worth buying a chance or two. The top winner will receive a 2007 World Series ball signed by Curt Schilling, who, as you may know, is a strong supporter of the fight to beat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

I know all this because of a woman from West Warwick, Beth Fitzpatrick. Ever since six years ago this month, when her friend Ellen Kaatz was diagnosed with the disease, Beth has become an active participant in walks and golf tournaments and yes, raffles to help in the fight against ALS. According to Beth, when Ellen was first diagnosed, she was given not much more than two years to live.

Every step of the way, Beth has been right there in the thick of her friend's battle to beat the odds. "The progression of the disease has seemed to level off for now," Beth tells me. "Thankfully, she still does not need a feeding tube or a respirator. She needs assistance with activities such as going to the bathroom and eating since her legs and arms have weakened. Her speech has gotten softer and is very slurred, but she can still get her point across."

A three-sport athlete, Junior Olympian and lover of the outdoors, Ellen still looks for ways to remain as active as possible. I was surprised to hear that she and her husband, Eric, recently went skiing at Mount Sunapee. "They have a special seat with skis on the bottom which Ellen sits in," says Beth. "Eric skis down the mountain pushing the seat."

I was also surprised to hear that, according to Nancy Feroldi, executive director of the ALS Association's Rhode Island chapter, as many as 80 people in Rhode Island are affected by ALS. Among the services that the local chapter provides is a clinic where all the different specialists ALS patients need are available at the same place on the same day. All of the proceeds from the raffle, she says, will stay local to benefit patient support programs such as the clinic.

So what does this have to do with Valentine's Day?

Well, in my opinion, I can't think of a greater love story than that of a friend like Beth doing everything and anything in her power to help Ellen beat the odds against ALS. And I can't think of a better Valentine's Day gift than a raffle ticket to support a friendship like that and keep the love going around.

Raffle tickets are $5 each or six for $25. The drawing is April 8th. For more information or to buy tickets call the ALS R.I. Chapter at (401) 732-1609 or e-mail ALSARINF@aol.com.

Rita Lussier can be reached at ReetsAL@aol.com or by mail c/o Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain S.t, Providence, RI 02902.

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