Luckiest Man
WHAT IS ALS
“For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
The disease was first identified in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, but it wasn't until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the disease. It was then most commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Gehrig played with the New York Yankees for 17 years and was one of baseball’s most beloved players. Still today, it is questioned that if Gehrig didn’t get ALS, if he would be the greatest hitter of all-time, instead of Ted Williams.
Like most ALS warriors, Gehrig noticed many of the disease’s symptoms before diagnosis. On the field, he experienced slipping, falling, and loss of coordination and strength. On his 36th birthday he was diagnosed and shortly after he chose to retire. The Yankees designated July 4, 1939 “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” at Yankee Stadium and honored Gehrig as he gave his famous speech where he deemed himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
ALS is characterized by a progressive degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain (upper motor neurons) and spinal cord (lower motor neurons). When the motor neurons can no longer send impulses to the muscles, the muscles begin to waste away (atrophy), causing increased muscle weakness.
Signs and symptoms include: muscle weakness, loss of coordination, stiff muscles, muscle spasms, or overactive reflexes, fatigue or feeling faint, difficulty speaking or vocal cord spasm, difficulty swallowing, drooling, lack of restraint, mild cognitive impairment, severe constipation, severe unintentional weight loss and shortness of breath.
Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with the disease and someone passes away from it.
A majority of people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55 at the time of diagnosis. However, cases of the disease do occur in people in of all ages.
In about 10% of cases there is a clear genetic history, familial ALS, where 90% of cases are left unknown.
Military veterans are up to twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than the general public. Reason unknown.
The average survival time is 2-5 years.
There is no known cause.
There is no cure.