Hello! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been fighting and living with ALS for over eleven years. You’ll also be familiar with my annual appeal for donations to the ALS Association (ALSA).

Receiving an ALS diagnosis is devastating because it’s 100% fatal and there’s no effective treatment to slow down the progression. Only about 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year, and the low numbers make it a low priority for drug companies. Figures I’d get a fatal orphan disease.

The life expectancy of an ALS patient is two to five years. I’m still alive because I have great caregivers and generous financial support from friends, family, and the VA. But not all people who have ALS are as fortunate, and that’s why I raise money for the ALS Association.

ALSA provides support for ALS patients and their families, as well as funding research and advocating for us in Washington. They have been good to me and my family, and I want to give back.

This year, I set a goal of raising $7,500, but I’m not quite there yet. If you’d like to help me reach my goal and help a worthy cause, here’s a link where you can donate.

My blog readers have been so generous in the past, and I want you to know how much I appreciate that. You’re the best!

Other ways you can contribute to ALSA (at no additional cost to you):

• Use the links in my posts to purchase things on Amazon. Even if you purchase items other than books, I get a commission if you use a link from my blog to initiate your shopping session. I donate all commissions to ALSA – at the beginning of August, I was able to contribute $35 thanks to the purchases you made.
• Choose The ALS Association Mid-America Chapter as your Amazon Smile charity. For those of you who have never used Amazon Smile, Amazon will donate a small percentage of your purchase costs the charity of your choice at no extra cost to you. To sign up, go to smile.amazon.com. You also need to use that URL when making purchases in order for the donation part to work.

Thanks in advance for your generosity. Together, we can shatter ALS! Here’s that link again.