The devastating reality of ALS
- ALS is unrelenting. And it can affect anyone, of any age, at any time. Currently, there is no cure.
- A neurological disease, ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig disease) gradually and insidiously paralyzes you because your brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles of the body that you can typically move at will. Over time, as the muscles of your body break down, ALS will take away your ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and, eventually, breathe.
- Eighty percent of people with ALS die within three years of being diagnosed. Those who live for longer than five years usually rely on a ventilator through a tracheostomy, and can only communicate with their eyes and eye-gaze technology. It has been described as living in a glass coffin.
- Today, ALS is always fatal. But the recent acceleration of research has ensured that this will change. It is now not a question of if, but WHEN there will be a significant treatment breakthrough that brings a cure.
Right now, there are 3000 families living with ALS in Canada.
Every year, 1000 more families in Canada will receive this devastating diagnosis.
Every year, 1000 families, and all their friends, colleagues, and communities will lose someone they LOVE to ALS.
Join our fight to #EndALS!
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