A veteran named Ken Patterson is making his way to Washington in a powered wheelchair to deliver letters from people suffering from ALS. He is doing this because he himself was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease and he is hoping for more money to fund research leading to a cure.
Several studies over the years have shown that veterans are twice as likely to develop the illness. The disease was first discovered in 1869 and little has changed for its’ victims. ALS steadily takes away muscle function until the patient can no longer breathe and expires. Having this disease is a death sentence giving only two to five years of life past the diagnosis.
There is only one drug that is used for treatment and at over $1000 a month it only extends life about eight to twelve weeks.
A gene has been linked to the disease however that doesn’t explain why veterans are more at risk. Although people who have served in Dessert Storm are even more at risk, it doesn’t seem to matter what branch of service you’re in or even that you’ve ever left the US and have been in combat. This information leaves more questions than answers and the 5 million dollars already given for this research won’t nearly be enough to come up with answers.