Hrezo's Heroes ready to walk
By Rachel Basinger
For the Daily Courier
Friday, September 12, 2008



Joe Hrezo was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in 2002, and six years later he still hasn't let it get him down.

On Saturday, the Connellsville resident and 50 other team members, known as Hrezo's Heroes, will participate in a walk at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to raise money for ALS research.

Hrezo said he began noticing the effects of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, in 1993, when he was 44 years old.

"I was an avid runner and a charter member of the Woodruff 5K committee," Hrezo said. "I ran the great race in Pittsburgh six or eight times, and I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon once.



"I first started noticing something wasn't right with little things, like not being able to spring to a base when I was playing softball," Hrezo added. "I still continued to run 6 to 8 miles three times a week, and I would notice that it was continually taking me longer to get loose."
This went on for a few more years, with doctors thinking it might be a vitamin deficiency.

"I was on a regimen of B-12 shots and taking other vitamins, but it didn't seem to be working," Hrezo said.

So in 2001, his family doctor suggested Hrezo visit the Cleveland Clinic, where he was diagnosed with ALS.

"With this disease, you have to eliminate everything else," Hrezo said. "There's not really a test for it, and there's no known cause or cure."

The disease causes muscles to deteriorate and affects any kind of movement, including speech.

Over the years Hrezo has had to give up a lot of the things he used to enjoy doing, including running, gardening and hunting, but he is still committed to doing whatever he can to continue working as a toll collector for the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Stanton.

"I can barely walk and I use a three-wheel walker, but my employers make it as easy as possible for me to keep working," he said. "They keep me in the booth closest to the buildin,g and my fellow workers stop traffic so I can get to and from my booth."

Also, after being nominated by his employers, Hrezo won the 2005 state Employee of the Year with a Disability.

He added that since there is no cure, individuals will eventually die from the disease, with an average life expectancy at five years.

It's been six years since Hrezo's diagnosis and 15 years since he first began noticing symptoms.

"Obviously the disease is not something that you want to have, but I'm lucky that I have the slow-progression form of this disease," Hrezo said. "And without family support, I'm not sure what I'd do.

"It was a card that was dealt to me, and we just try to continue to lead as normal of a life as possible," he added. "We go shopping and go out to dinner, and we try to go to the Elks for wings every now and then."

Hrezo said that the ALS Society inPittsburgh organized the walk and has support groups that provide a lot of services throughout the year for Hrezo and others with the disease.

"This is the second year that I have participated in the event at the zoo, but this is the first year that I will be taking my own team down," he said.

The team hopes to reach $2,500 in donations for the ALS Society.

"I have gotten donations as low as $1 and as high as $100," Hrezo said. "Right now we're at about 55 percent of our goal."

He added that while the fundraising event is on Saturday, the team will continue to accept donations through Sept. 22. Anyone wishing to donate may send a check payable to the ALS Association, in care of Joe Hrezo, 1402 W. Green St., Connellsville, PA 15425.



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