Researchers discover common cause of all forms of ALS
I have partnered with Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine to help create awareness for PPA research. A couple days ago, this department had a MAJOR breakthrough in the researching and testing of the brutal disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The relentless persistence of a quarter century has finally paid of for senior author Teepu Siddique, M.D., Professor of the Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurosciences at Northwestern’s Feinberg School and a neurologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
He said he was initially drawn to it because, “It was one of the most difficult problems in neurology and the most devastating, a disease without any treatment or known cause.”
The underlying disease process of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Lou Gehrig’s disease), a fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims, has long eluded scientists and prevented development of effective therapies. Scientists weren’t even sure all its forms actually converged into a common disease process.
But a new Northwestern Medicine study for the first time has identified a common cause of all forms of ALS.
Rose, who works at Connect, is doing a 3 day sponsored silence as part of our Fantastic 50 challenge – to raise money and awareness for Connect and people with aphasia.
“I am too lazy to run a marathon and I have already jumped out of a plane so I have decided to do… a sponsored silence!!
I will therefore not talk for 3 whole days! That is 72 hours or 4320 minutes or 259,200 seconds not saying a word!!! For many of you that know me well, this is going to be a real challenge!!
I am not doing this for fun but I am doing it for an amazing charity called Connect, who provide vital support for people with aphasia.
Every 11 minutes, 3 people will have a stroke, 1 of them will loose the ability to communicate. This is called aphasia and can happen to anyone at any time. Some people cannot speak at all, others can no longer read, write or use numbers.
This challenge will be no comparison to actually having aphasia however I hope it will highlight how devastating it can be when you loose your speech in an instant.”
22 Time Marathon WINNER Bill Rodgers Endorses Run4Papa!
I I was told there was a man named Bill who had run the Boston Marathon 4 times and would be the keynote speaker. Whether it was because I was up at the crack of dawn, or just flat out didn’t hear the information clearly, I was thrilled to be part of any event partnering running with a local charity. I filmed the registration of the event, some warm-up exercises and did an introduction for our staff. I saw Bill speaking to some people, taking pictures, and signing autographs. It was sinking in that I had not heard the whole story about this man but I had to prep for the race.
We counted down from 10 and the race began. I got out of the gate quickly as I had to film the start, portions of the race, and an interview with Bill afterwards. I ran about halfway and stopped in order to film some of the runners. As I saw Bill approaching (he had gotten a late start due to being swarmed by fans), I felt comfortable with my footage and continued running the second half of the 5K. He had was been running alone at a steady pace…
We struck up a conversation about running immediately and briefly discussed how international the sport has become over the past couple of decades. “There are races anywhere and everywhere. No matter what the language or location, you can challenge yourself on any part of the globe,” said Bill. My immediate curiosity got the best of me and I asked him, “Is it true you have run the Boston Marathon 4 times?” Without being pretentious or condescending he replied,
“Actually I ran it 17 times. I won it 4.”
To tell you I wanted to crawl in a cave and hibernate for a season or two is being awfully generous.
I am positive he sensed my embarrassment; however, we continued running and talked as if we had been friends for years. He was so grounded and friendly. I asked him how many marathons he had won. “22. Boston 4 times, New York City 4 times, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Japan…” I asked him about the pressure of 3-peating the Boston Marathon from ’78-80 (he informed me of the exact dates ) and he just had a confidence about him that was contagious.
He just loves to run.
He asked me “Have you ever considered running a marathon?” It was this question that lead me to explain the Run 4 Papa campaign. He mentioned he once ran the Beijing Marathon and came up 1 mile short. My face must’ve shifted color and expression as Bill chuckled and said,
“Well, I was trying to win it and not just finish!”
As we were nearing the finish line, he offered his full support for the cause and asked me if he could endorse the website on camera. Here was a living legend offering his endorsement to raise awareness about PPA. I was floored and honored.
After our interview, Bill was kind enough to give me his contact information and said, “Make sure you call me when you get back to Charlotte.”
I guarantee this time I will be well prepared for our conversation…
