[BobbyB]

Local man hopes to see his dream come true in national ALS database
Posted by Steve Doyle September 30, 2008 6:56 PM
Categories: Medical


Eric Obermann works with his parents, Stuart and Marcia, on a speech he gave to a U.S. Senate committee in 2005. Eric, 27, has been traveling to Washington D.C. for years to promote ALS research.The diseased muscles around his mouth stopped working long ago, but Eric Obermann is smiling inside.

Congress recently approved the creation of a national registry to gather detailed information on the south Huntsville man and thousands of others living with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Obermann, 27, who is paralyzed and hooked to a breathing machine, testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in May 2005 about the need for such a database. He has returned to Washington every year since to help nudge the idea along.

The Senate unanimously approved the bill last week, and it sailed through the House by a vote of 415-2. President Bush is expected to sign it into law in the coming days.

"Eric is very excited," his father, Stuart Obermann, said Tuesday. "He's been involved in this almost from the get-go. His mission was really to serve as a voice for other ALS patients."

Learn more about the database and its potential benefits in tomorrow's Huntsville Times.