UPDATE: In the scheme of things a post like this is more important than who wins or who loses and reminds us all that what is important is who loves and who gives. (RevHF)

UPDATE 2: As of 9/19, you guys donated over $750 in 4 days!!!!  Thank you so much!!!! -- red floyd

Here are two names. Lou Gehrig and Stephen Hawking. Two men who are well known for their expertise in their fields. There are many more names, none of them household names. All of them also linked with Gehrig and Hawking. And one more name, more important to me than the rest, Sue Neugroschl. They are all linked forever because of a disease -- ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

I'm going to ramble a bit, and beg your indulgence.

A leg spasm. It all started with a leg spasm in the night. Eventually leading to limping and falling. Which led to doctor visit after doctor visit, and about 6 different specialists in different fields over a period of 18 months. When you hear hoofbeats, you look for horses, not zebras, right? So, looking for the horses, we had so many red herrings and dismissals, including one doctor who claimed Sue's problems were psychosomatic ("Oh, it just empty nest syndrome... it'll go away..."), that we were going crazy.

Until we found one doctor who told us that something HAD to be going on, and she started looking for the zebras. And she found them. A year and a half after that nighttime spasm, we finally had an answer, and it wasn't good.

It was ALS.

Until a couple of months ago, nobody knew why ALS killed nerves, eventually paralyzing and killing the victim. But thanks to dedicated researchers, now we know, and research can move towards a real treatment, rather than alleviating symptoms. Of course, we still don't know what causes this to occur. More research is needed, both into the root cause of the changes that lead to the disease, and into medicines and treatments. And unfortunately research costs money.

I'm writing this to ask you to help. By donating to the Walk to Defeat ALS, you can contribute to helping find a cure for this horrible disease.  And maybe, just maybe, with your help, nobody will ever have to worry about a nighttime leg spasm again.

To donate, please visit my Walk to Defeat ALS Page at http://web.alsa.org/goto/scott-and-sue.  Also, please, if you choose to donate, send an e-mail to redfloyd at gmail dot com with your real name and SBN name, so that I can know to whomI am writing thank you notes!

The Walk to Defeat ALS will be in Ventura on October 16.   If you'd like to participate by walking, please go to the Team SueRuNeu web page, and join our team!

Thank you all, and God bless.

red floyd