Here are profiles of some young people who have made a difference.
ALS Speech By TiaMay 15, 2009
A quick note....Rick...nor I...nor Tia's parents knew that she was going to address the student assembly with over 400 present! Quite a way to start your public speaking career. She told us afterwards that she was just shaking! It didn't show. We were all so shocked and crying at the time we asked her for the written copy of her speech to let it all sink in. Once again...we all can make a difference in people's lives no matter how young or old we are....Here it is....
Is everyone in your house healthy? When you get sick does your cold or flu go away?
I am Tia K. and I know first hand about a sickness that does not go away.
My grandparents are Rick and Joan and my grandpa has ALS.
Last year my grandpa and grandma moved into our house. When grandpa moved in he was walking with a cane. We made a bedroom upstairs for them and we got a special elevator to take him up and down.
Our garage got turned into a suite for my grandparents. It is very nice having my grandparents around. I get to visit them whenever I want. They come to my school to see my band and Christmas concerts. We made a special bathroom so grandpa wouldn’t have to step so high to get into a bathtub. The sink is built so his wheelchair will fit underneath it. There is a drain in the middle of the floor because there is no edges on the shower stall.
Grandpa has trouble walking so he has a wheelchair named Max. He can drive it to get the mail. Now he can even go to the grocery store. I like it that the store made a ramp so we can go on shopping errands together.
My grandpa can’t get into a normal vehicle anymore. They bought “the beast” for driving to appointments and farther trips. It is a big grey van that has a lift for hoisting grandpa and his wheelchair. It is like driving a bus. Grandpa can stay in his wheelchair and it locks into place. If you ever see them driving in town…make sure you wave!
My grandpa can’t sleep in a regular bed anymore because it is to hard to move over. He has a hospital bed with a trapeze over top so he can pull himself over. When grandpa can’t move himself anymore we have a Hoyer lift for moving him. It is like a crane for lifting him. My grandpa may have more trouble doing things soon. The ALS Society has a lot of equipment that can make things easier for him and us.
ALS affects everyone, not just the one who has it. My grandma works really hard to make things easier for grandpa. My dad did an amazing job changing our house for them. My mom usually cooks so that grandma and grandpa can do other fun stuff. My sister and I try to visit to check up on them. Many other family members help out in ways to numerous to mention. Without the help of family and friends things would be a lot harder for grandpa.
Lets give the helpers a round of applause…and an applause for the brave heart himself…Rick!
You are walking to help other people have easier lives and to raise money for research to cure this horrible disease. For this I want to thank you!
Katie's ALS Fundraising Garage Sale
May 10, 2009
Our six year old granddaughter had a dream last winter that she wanted to have a garage sale to raise money for ALS to help find a cure for the disease, and help supply equipment to ALS patients.She won the hearts of us all when she persisted even this Spring that she still wanted to go ahead with it. Her big sister Tia who tirelessly worked on the day of the sale, Dad and Mom who supported their little girl's dream, family and friends came along side to make this happen!
On the day of the sale...it SNOWED!!! There she sat shivering away and sitting at the table with her sister in their winter clothes. She was selling her lemonade as a garage sale has to have lemonade! Never could we have imagined how her goal of $100.00 would be exceeded! We decided that there would be NO prices on anything but that people could pay what they deemed fair. Hot Dogs, coffee, lemonade and some hot chili were also available.
Everyone opened their hearts and wallets to make the day more of a success than any one of us could have imagined!
When the dust cleared and a very tired bunch of us added it all up we found that over $1,000.00 had been raised and the money will be all going to the ALS Society of MB. WOW!!!!! We are so proud of our grand girls who both withstood the cold and worked so hard to make this happen!!!!
  Lindsay Robertson (left) and Andrea Rende |
Lindsay is a 3rd – year student in Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, but is originally from Oakville, ON.
Lindsay’s father was diagnosed with ALS when Lindsay was in Grade 10. Ironically, before his diagnosis was definitive, Lindsay was studying the book Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. It is about Albom reconnecting with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, who has ALS, and learning a great many important life lessons from him during weekly visits.
Lindsay began participating in the Walk for ALS, and in Grade 12 decided to start her own Halton Walk for ALS, which is now held every Monday of the May long weekend in the Oakville / Burlington / Milton area of Ontario.
The first year of Lindsay’s walk raised $46,000 and the second year $85,000, and this past year raised over $83,000 through the participation of friends, family and some corporate sponsorships.
The start of the Halton ALS Walk…more than 500 participated last year
Kaitlynn Roberts
Kaitlynn is a Grade 11 student in Oakville, Ontario.
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Kaitlynn organized her first Walk for ALS team when she was 14 and has done so every year since. Her Walk is titled “Peter’s Path,” in honour of her uncle Peter, who died of ALS in 2005.
Peter’s Path Website
https://www.als.ca/events/mysite.aspx?fid=1643
Here is a video posted to You Tube about the 2007 Walk
