Students raise funds for ALS
> Experience with Lou Gehrig's Disease inspires cottonwood student activism <
By Danielle Sottosanti
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.25.2008


On Friday students at Cottonwood Elementary School got a firsthand look at how their fundraising dollars can help someone with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.
The school's ALS Awareness Poster Contest raised $531.27 for Tucson's annual Walk to Defeat ALS. Twenty-one classes made posters that people voted for through online donations or by making donations at the school, 9950 E. Rees Loop.
To put that amount of money into perspective, the ALS Association Arizona Chapter showed $530 worth of medical equipment to the classes with the two winning posters.
That equipment — such as a four-wheel walker with a seat and specially designed utensils and drinking cups — can help make the life of someone with the disease easier, said Miriam Kwast, the chapter's patient services coordinator for the southern region.
Medical care typically costs an ALS patient about $200,000 a year, including medical equipment and treatment, Kwast said.
The two winning classes — one decided by judges' decision, the other by the most money raised — went to a popcorn party held at the school Friday afternoon.
University of Arizona mascot Wilma Wildcat was there to congratulate them on their hard work and each child received a free Tucson Sidewinders hat full of goodies such as coupons from Texas Roadhouse and Eegee's.
The students, many of whom researched ALS to make the posters, learned more about the disease that day from South Side resident Albert Diaz, who has had ALS for 10 years.
Diaz, 42, answered students' questions such as what it's like to have the disease.
It's frustrating to not be able to do the things that other people can, he told them. Diaz is in a wheelchair, can't move his arms and has slurred speech.
There are many varieties and forms of ALS, said Laura Cech, the ALS chapter's development coordinator. "It strikes everybody a little differently."
Some ALS patients can't move their legs. Some need a feeding tube because they can't swallow. Some lose their ability to speak.
Cech's brother, Mike Wetzel, died of ALS in 2005 at age 46. He was diagnosed at age 42. "One of his first symptoms was slurred speech. That's how we knew something was wrong," she remembers.
The three Cottonwood students who organized the poster contest — Erin and Conner Cech, who are Laura Cech's children, and Dale Riehl — know firsthand how ALS can impact people's lives. Wetzel was Erin and Conner's uncle. Dale's uncle was diagnosed with ALS in April.
Dale, 11, said he helps his uncle do things that are hard for him because of the disease.
"When my family bike rides, I help him tie his shoes because it has hit his hands very hard and it takes him a lot of work to get his shoes on and whatnot," he said.
Cottonwood Principal Deborah Bryson said the children approached her with their idea to do a poster contest and that it corresponds with the school's and the Vail School District's goals.
"We talk about caring about others and taking responsibility. We want to be sure that's not just a thing we say but we're actively out in the community making a difference through volunteering, fundraising and truly caring about others," she said.
"This was a wonderful opportunity for students to see that in action."
● Contact reporter Danielle Sottosanti at 618-1922 or at dsottosanti@azstarnet.com.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/258904