Hockey shines light on ALS
Degenerative disease's impacts far-reaching
Published: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 12:15 PM CST

Powell River Kings will be hosting an ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Awareness Night at a hockey game on Friday, February 20 at the Powell River Recreation Complex.


ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a person's motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere; typically the person is immobilized or deceased within two to five years of the initial diagnosis.



ALS is a disease that demands urgent attention. Its devastation affects not only the person diagnosed with ALS, but also their family, caregivers and the health care system. When ALS hits a family, the focus turns to provision of care, equipment and emotional support to the person destined to die. In the later stages of the disease the person with ALS often cannot speak, swallow or move anything but their eyes; however, the mind remains alert.



The impact on the family is powerful. As they struggle to cope with the prospect of advancing disability and death, the disease consumes emotional and financial reserves. ALS is a costly disease in its later stages, demanding both extensive nursing care and expensive equipment. The ALS Society of BC provides support for patient services and raises funds for research to find a cure for ALS.



On Saturday, April 4, a walk for ALS will be held at Okeover Inlet. Walk coordinators Frankie Kellner and Susan Hanson will be at the hockey game to promote this event.

For more information, readers can call Hanson at 604.414.0318 or visit www.walkforals.ca



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