[BobbyB]

Help give others Hope!



I'm Riggin



Riggin's Team team page
Mr. Riggin Loin Cleveland



Goal: $5,000.00
Achieved: $2,493.70

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Fundraising
Honor RollRiggin's Team
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Irvin Insurance Agency
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Anonymous
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Honda Kawasaki West
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Gloria Tanguay
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I invite you to take this Journey with me.

Hello My name is Riggin Cleveland and my G.G. who I love with all my heart has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. My heart breaks to watch the suffering she is enduring. Together with your help we can give HOPE and find a cure! Thank you for helping me reach my Walk to Defeat ALS® fundraising goal! This is an exciting opportunity for us to work together to support those affected by Lou Gehrig's Disease and to spread awareness of the urgency to find treatments and a cure. Together, we can give others HOPE!
DONATE TODAY!

Please consider walking with me or sponsoring me. With your help, we will be able to make a difference in the lives of people affected by this disease. I encourage you get your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers involved!


Stand up for someone who no longer can, use your voice and ask for donations for someone who is no longer able.

Why We Need Your Help
Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.
What is ALS?
Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of it's ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe.
1. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages two to five years from the time of diagnosis.
2. Every 90 minutes someone in this country is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease.
3. ALS can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease. Someone you know or love may die from ALS unless a cure is found.
4. Caring for a loved one with ALS costs on average of $200,000 each year.

My letter to G.G.

G.G. you have never once not been there for me in my life and I want to thank you for that. You will never know how much that has meant to me. All the practices and games, you always made sure you were there. I never told you, but I would always look up in the stands for you and it always made me feel good to see you yelling for me. Thanks for that G.G. All the times you would take me to Red Lobster and let me order what ever I wanted, that was always good times for me with you. You never let me go without anything and went out of your way to find things I needed or wanted. G.G. you have the best hugs! Thanks for all the times you pick up the phone to see how my day was and to tell me you love me. I hope everyone has a G.G. in ther life like I have. I know some of these things are being taken from us one by one but what they have meant to me, and my wonderful memories of those times can never be taken from me. I love you with my soul G.G. and I promise you, that with the help of our family and friends we will help find a cure for ALS. I want to thank God for allowing me to know you and be apart of your life, because I will always carry you and your wisdom with me where ever my Journey takes me. I love you G.G. Riggs

The Bullpen! Discussion Board! Please Post!

Topics
Today, I walked away with more than just Donations!
Today, my Mom, Colton, Kelli, and myself stood outside of Kroger in Crowley and ask for Donations. It went really well. I learned today that people are actually on average good at heart. The world is not as bad as some would think. People opened their Hearts, and their wallets and gave money for my cause. They gave more than money they gave HOPE. I watched a total stranger, take my mother's hand and tell her that she could count on her prayers to our family and ask for my G.G.'s name and then she hugged my mom and as she walked away tears flowed from her face. We spoke with so many that shared their stories with us, and many going through such difficult times as ours. Tell me your view or a experience that you have had like I did today!

by Riggin Cleveland on Sun, Sep 21, 2008 @ 9:14 PM

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Speaking of organ donation!
Are you one of those people who say, I will leave with what I came with! Then ask yourself, if you needed a kidney or other organ, would you except it? If your not willing to give yours are you willing to except one from some one else? Think about it! Become an organ donor! Thanks Riggs

by Riggin Cleveland on Sun, Sep 14, 2008 @ 12:02 AM

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I will be posting several post of fellow PALS ( people with ALS)
Posted by Stephen's brother Jamie... Saturday, November 25, 12:49 PM
Dear Friends,
Friday morning at 5:30 I received the call from Wendy that I have gone to bed each night hoping would never happen. I could tell from the sound of her voice that this one was different. When I arrived, their small street was lit up with the flashing lights of two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car. Going inside past Wendy holding Alex in her arms and into his bedroom I found Stephen. His vent had disconnected, his lips were blue and despite aggressive CPR he looked peaceful perhaps with even a slight trace of a smile. I rode to Newton Wellesley with the ambulance driver who also grew up in Newton and remembered Stephen from other visits.
Between Wendy, his caregiver and the EMT's, Stephen had CPR for over 40 min. I don't know if it is because he forgot that he was sick or because his heart is larger and stronger than any I have ever known but it restarted. You could actually see the disbelief on the ER team's faces. You also knew that they were not sure this was a good thing because Stephen's eyes were not responding at all. They wanted to make sure we understood how bad it was but they missed Stephen's point as people often do.
Stephen would tell a joke about wanting to die a heroic death. It went something like this. There would be a fire and he would save someone but it would have be a slow fire with ramps because he would be in a wheelchair. I think he found a way to do that. There is no blood flow to either hemisphere of his brain and he has no EEG signals. Stephen is gone, left in our hearts and in the relationships and structures he built. Stephen was in command of his world and his body at all times and never lived life on anything other than his own terms. Thursday night before bed he sent an email to Ben saying how wonderful our Thanksgiving was; it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Stephen has kept his body alive so that his family and friends could gather and say goodbye.
As Stephen indicated he wanted to he will donate his organs to others to give them a chance at the amazing years of life that he gave us. Sometime over the next few days if it is possible some very lucky person will get his heart. So he found his slow fire and it has ramps.
-jamie
Sunday, November 26, 11:03 PM Stephen Update
This morning at 6:30am Stephen went into surgery after being declared legally brain dead. Wendy quietly sang Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLachlan and then we walked him down as a group. His body fought for 2 days to enable him to donate his organs in the best way. As I write this two patients, age 33 and 47, are receiving his kidneys and are being given a chance at life. Stephenss heart stopped at 7:36 am. My family was all together at our parents. Stephen found a chance even in death to help others. He gave so much strength to so many. This does not end here. Together with Stephenss spirit continuing to guide us we will take this disease apart and destroy it.

by Riggin Cleveland on Sat, Sep 13, 2008 @ 11:57 PM

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