[BobbyB]

Gameball Run gives back to frat brother
Sigma Nu’s Carolina-Clemson fundraiser benefits alum with ALS
Written by ROBIN COWIE NALEPA
rnalepa@thestate.com

Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com/Erk Campos
Brian Shah, right, of Irmo, seen here, with wife Ashley Shah, will participate in the Sigma Nu Gameball Run for the USC-Clemson game. Shah, 33, suffers from Lou Gerihg's Disease (ALS) and will carry the ball for the first mile of the 128 mile journey in his wheelchair on Friday from Williams-Brice.

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In 1997, as an active member of the Sigma Nu fraternity at USC, Brian Shah proudly jogged a mile with the Clemson-Carolina game ball helping to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

This year, the event has a more personal meaning for the Irmo man. He will carry the ball in his lap as he makes his way in a wheelchair along the first mile of the 138-mile trek to Death Valley as part of the Sigma Nu Game-ball Run.

Shah, 33, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, just two days after the Carolina-Clemson game last year.

ALS is a neuromuscular disease that weakens the body’s muscles, leading to paralysis and eventually death.

Since the diagnosis, Shah and his wife of more than five years, Ashley, have faced the disease and its challenges together. They also have received the consistent help of family, friends and Shah’s Sigma Nu brothers.

When the couple had to buy a house so they could modify the doors, floors and rooms to accommodate a wheelchair, eight alumni brothers were there for the heavy lifting. When the house needed painting, the brothers came with brushes. And now the Sigma Nu brothers, both active and alumni, rally around Shah again.

Sigma Nu alumni members, including Robert Darr, a close friend of Shah’s, requested that the USC chapter donate a portion of the proceeds from this year’s Gameball Run to their fraternity brother. (A portion also will benefit the MS Foundation.)“We saw it as an opportunity to help out a fellow brother and create stronger ties with the alumni,” said Grayson James, the Sigma Nu Gameball Run chairman.

While Shah is fortunate to have insurance, it does not cover every expense. And as the disease progresses, the expenses mount.

“Once he gets in the advance stages, the average cost of treatment is $200,00 a year,” said Darr.

The 2007 Gameball Run — first done in 1980 — raised more than $31,000. The goal is even higher this year, according to James.

Before his body betrayed him, Shah was active. He played soccer and intramural football through college.

Now the normal activities of daily living are a challenge.

He gave up his job as a bank manager. He no longer can drive. He can’t catch himself if he falls. He still can make his own lunch, but it takes him an hour to do so.

“I can still write, but it looks like a 4-year-old,” he said, with a sheepish smile.

Ashley Shah pointed out a few positives — her husband is still very independent, still insists on cutting his own meat and brushing his own teeth, and he still can breathe on his own without the assistance of oxygen.

The Shahs know this won’t always be the case.

ALS manifests differently in each person it strikes. There is no set disease progression or strict timeline. However, the average survival rate is two to four years after diagnosis.

The Shahs maintain a positive attitude by communicating with each other, talking through different scenarios, making jokes.

“We make fun of it,” said Ashley Shah.

Her husband, whom she describes as “stubborn, sharp-witted and funny” often issues the challenge: “I’ll race you there.”

Shah’s speech is slow and labored due to the disease, but his longtime passion for Carolina football comes through loud and clear.

Shah has purchased season tickets for years, even when he lived in Florida and only made it up for one game a season. Even then, he arranged his work schedule so he could be home to watch the Gamecocks.

He’d wear a Carolina football jersey, don a helmet, and pace back and forth in front of the television, according to his wife.

“It didn’t really help,” he said of his armchair quarterbacking.

Shah is the one who needs help now.

ALS does not affect a person’s cognitive ability, so Shah knows what he wants to do and how he should be able to do it. Unfortunately, his body won’t respond.

Shah still can walk with the assistance of leg braces and a walker, but uneven ground and the distance will make it safer for him to roll out the power wheelchair for the Gameball Run.

“I’m very honored to run, or drive, the first mile and to have my name attached to the Gameball Run,” he said.

“We also feel blessed that they care enough about Brian to do this,” Ashley Shah added, tears welling in her eyes.

“It’s a testament to what brotherhood means.”

Reach Nalepa at (803) 771-8507.

http://www.thestate.com/594/story/597380.html

If you go
Sigma Nu Game Ball Run

When: 4 p.m. today

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

For more information or to donate: Robert Darr at (803) 960-3227 or Shane McCormack at (803) 467-6029 or visit www. www.thegameballrun.com.