Keeping a bright outlook
National ALS Awareness Month Dr. Brent Beson and patient Don Strahorn, who has ALS, discuss the disease.
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By Jeff Raymond
Staff Writer

The only clue to most people that Don Strahorn has a fearsome disease is the flesh-colored brace on his right leg.
Without the calf-to-ankle support, the Midwest City retiree couldn't play golf.


I shot an 84 this year, which was the best I've ever shot,” said Strahorn, 51.
Strahorn knows what it means to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease. He also knows that keeping a positive outlook and maintaining a normal life are crucial to his health.

"There's no way to know what's going to happen next. We don't think about it all the time. We've just got to live our life and do what we did beforehand,” he said.

Strahorn is one of estimated 250 Oklahomans who have ALS. May is National ALS Awareness Month.


It began with a weak foot
Difficulty walking and painless weakness in a limb are common first signs of the muscular degeneration that characterizes ALS.
Strahorn noticed his foot was weak two years ago. As his limp worsened, walking became more difficult.

"As I'm sitting up, my foot would just hang,” he said.

His wife of three decades, Lynda, admits things were tough at first, but the couple's faith, family and friends have kept them upbeat. Friends arranged a run earlier this month to raise money for the family to renovate a bathroom.

"Probably the hardest thing about this is we found out about this the day before our daughter got married,” she said.

The two have four children, all living in the metro area.

"They've hung in there. They're pretty tough,” said Lynda Strahorn, 50.

Although monthly support group meetings have been "uplifting,” she said, they also have made real what her husband faces. At the first meeting he attended, he was the only one able to walk in. Others were in wheelchairs and had trouble speaking. Although her husband was reluctant to go in, Lynda Strahorn insisted.

Both know what's in store.

"We have to laugh, and that's how our family is. We're tight,” she said.

Don Strahorn has taken this approach, joking about dragging his "ALS foot” when he moves slowly.

"Who ever thought I'd be one of ‘Jerry's Kids,'” he told his wife.


‘Still somewhat of an enigma'
Dr. Brent Beson, adult medical director of the MDA Neuromuscular Center at Integris Southwest Medical Center, treats Strahorn and about 130 others throughout the region. He said ALS shows itself many ways and can mimic other illnesses. Brain scans are normal in those with the disease.
"Most people describe it as a painless weakness with no loss of sensation,” Beson said.

Scientists don't know what causes most cases of ALS or why some people maintain muscle use longer than others. Doctors have no way to tell who will live 20 years and who will live two years.

"It's still somewhat of an enigma,” Beson said. The disease crosses age, geographic and ethnic boundaries.

The main concern for doctors is maintaining patients' nutritional needs and ability to breathe, and prolonging muscle function as long as possible.

Kenneth Hensley, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist who has studied ALS, said acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, has shown a small effect.

"We've found that certain anti-inflammatory compounds — by no means all of them — have some promise,” he said.

Hensley said earlier diagnosis may help patients' chances.

"It may be six months to a year before they have a definite diagnosis of ALS,” he said.

MDA representatives and ALS care coordinators work with patients at the Southwest clinic. The association pays for clinic visits and helps with the cost of wheelchairs that cost more than many new cars.

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Spring Hill, Thomas Jefferson could get new names
By Jamie Brunk Staff Writer // jamieb@nwanews.com

Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008

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BENTONVILLE - Two Bentonville schools may soon be renamed to honor longtime educators.

The Bentonville School Board's Facilities Committee approved both name changes Friday morning at its May meeting. Spring Hill Middle School is expected to become Ardis Ann Middle School, after the school's founding principal, Ardis Larson-Cole. Thomas Jefferson Elementary School could soon bear the name Tennie Russell Elementary School, after a local woman who taught there for nearly three decades.

Board members on the committee approved both name changes unanimously, but they also agreed that the board's policies must be followed. The board's schoolnaming policy requires that the Facilities Committee first approve the name, then there must be a chance for public input before the full school board approves the name.

The idea for changing Spring Hill's name to honor Larson-Cole came first from a staff member from that school. Larson-Cole worked in the Bentonville schools for 20 years, and she opened Spring Hill as principal in 1995. She retired two years ago and was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS ), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, about eight months ago.

"It's a real appropriate honor," said board member Beth Haney, who had two children attend Spring Hill.

Similar thoughts were conveyed regarding renaming TJ after Russell, who not only taught there for 27 years but also had three children and three grandchildren attend the school. The committee compared naming the school after Russell to naming a school after Mary Mae Jones. Both women are the same age and have been dedicated to Bentonville education for many years.

Both women expressed being pleased with the honor being suggested.

"It's a great honor," Russell said. "I spent my entire career at Thomas Jefferson. My roots run deep."

Larson-Cole issued a statement through family members regarding the honor.

"I have had a lot of time to reflect on my life since being diagnosed with ALS eight months ago. This honor is a legacy like no other," she said. "Spring Hill was my heart and soul. We had a wonderful, progressive staff that always did their best to achieve success for students and our community.

"(Assistant principal ) Wayne Zumwalt and I worked together for 11 years," Larson-Cole continued. "Our strengths meshed to empower success at Spring Hill. We had outstanding students and parents to work with, as well as a great support staff who were always willing to go beyond expectations."

No major objections to the name changes are expected, but the board will continue with plans to allow time for public comment. The only possible snafu with changing TJ's name to honor Russell is that it remains unclear why Thomas Jefferson was given its original name. Records indicate that the land where the school is built came from a "Tommy Jefferson," but there is also the belief that the school could have simply been named for the former U. S. president. There is only one living board member from that time, Superintendent Gary Compton said.

More research will go into the matter before the full board votes in June. Board member Marshall Ney raised the issue and said that if the school district paid for the land or if the school was named for a former president, he doesn't mind the name being changed. If the school's land was donated, however, changing the name now would set a precedent for future boards to change school names simply because they were unfamiliar with the people for whom the school was named, he said.

Board member Joe Falcon suggested that if it doesn't work out for Thomas Jefferson Elementary School to be renamed for Russell, then Bentonville's next elementary school could be named in her honor.

http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/62106/