As many of you know my brother Jimmy was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in June of 2021. He continues to fight a very public and courageous battle against the disease. We are very thankful to ALS United Ohio and Amy Hall for all the mountains of support they have provided. Please consider a donation. Thank you.

In Jimmy’s own words typed with his eye movements no less:

The WalkALS is right around the corner, however, before I ask you for a donation let me give you an update on me (cause it’s all about me).  I am now totally wheelchair bound but I can still stand with assistance from two people.  I have not been able to feed myself and I had surgery to install a feeding tube which is used to supplement my meals as it is getting difficult to eat some foods. I have been losing my voice and in anticipation of it going away I now have an eye gaze computer that can speak for me, anything I type with my eyes is spoken in something very close to my own voice.  I can play music with Spotify.  I can read books with a Kindle app, watch Netflix and can totally control the cable box, all with my eyes. It will also control my phone which I am learning to do.

We have an aide on weekdays to get me up, cleaned, feed me breakfast and lunch, do my PT arm and leg stretches, I am lucky to have a wonderful one!  I am also lucky to have a wonderful wife who is my primary care giver 24/7, she handles managing all my daily activities and for that I am eternally grateful.  My daughter, son and daughter-in-law are here daily helping the aide get me up in the morning or help Nancy get me to bed.  Too numerous to mention are many other family and friends who help to make my life better.

So, just because life isn’t fair doesn’t mean it can’t be good.  This summer we took a trip to Nashville with my brothers, sister and mother. Everyone helped out with my care, even letting my drunk brother brush my teeth. The entire Tom Bowman family was here for a wonderful week of fun. Then we had year 27 at Fountain Point resort with all my kids and grandkids as well as Nancy’s brother and sister and families. So, all in all, life is good.  That is not to say that there are not challenges; every day there is something, but my care team meets them all, in some cases with assistance from ALS United Ohio.  As I have said in the past, this organization does a lot of good for a lot of people at no cost, but most importantly does a lot for ME!

I would be honored if you would donate to the cause and even more honored if you would sign up to walk with me. Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me. Click below to donate or register for the walk!