What is Lou Gehrig’s Disease?
ALS was first discovered in 1869, but it wasn’t until Gehrig’s diagnosis that the disease received international attention. This progressive, neurodegenerative disease affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. As these neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of the disease include increasing muscle weakness, especially in the limbs, as well as problems with speech, swallowing and breathing. Eventually, the neurons that control the lungs and heart cease to function, requiring patients to be placed on ventilators, eventually resulting in death.
Gehrig was only 36 when he was diagnosed with ALS, and he survived only two years after making his farewell speech. However, ALS typically strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, affecting about 30,000 Americans at any given time, with about 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year. According to the ALS Association, typical life expectancy for a patient diagnosed with ALS is between three and five years, although Stephen Hawking has lived with the disease for 51 years. While Gehrig’s name is most closely associated with the disease, ALS has cut short the lives of many notable figures, from Sesame Street creator Jon Stone to former Vice President of the United States Henry A. Wallace.
The Bucket List
In 2014, the ALS Association took the national spotlight with their ice bucket challenge, which went viral with both celebrities and everyday citizens around the country and around the world. Since launching the challenge on July 29, 2014, the ALS Association raised more than $115 million in donations, of which $21.7 million were already allocated to six research initiatives around the globe that are seeking treatments and cures for this deadly disease.