We Do It For Lou

I am attempting to become an Iron Phi, a special distinction given to members of my Fraternity (Phi Delta Theta) who have raised $1,000 for Iron Phi and completed an athletic event. Iron Phi directly benefits The ALS Association and funds ALS research.  Iron Phi also benefits the Phi Delta Theta Foundation that helps improve Phi Delta Theta each day through educational programming grants and scholarships.  For my athletic event, my approach will be a little different.  I am going to be writing a letter that will be sent to each chapter president within Phi Delta Theta.  The letter will serve to bring awareness to the disease and the ways they can get involved in our fight against it.

I became aware of ALS while attending Wichita State and as a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. The national philanthropy for my fraternity was ALS, and my college chapter had various fund raising events to benefit the Keith Worthington ALS Chapter in Kansas City. Mr. Worthington was an alumnus of the Fraternity at the University of Kansas so that brought the ?cause? closer to home.

Our ALS literature would include pictures of Mr. Worthington, and over the four years I could see the progression of the disease. The last one being of him inside an iron lung, and his eyes seem to plead for help. It was haunting yet moving to think that this disease could be so cruel. After college, I remained a contributor to my Fraternity's efforts to support ALS, but I wasn't attentive until I received a message from a chapter brother that his mother had been diagnosed. I was saddened to think of what lay ahead for her and her family.

I was active with the Kansas Chapter of the Leukemia Society for many years, serving as an officer and chairman of many events. Leukemia research is making headway, so many people are afflicted, and so many donations are received year after year. Fortunately ALS is not as prevalent as Leukemia, but then the donations aren't enough to make the strides we've seen with other diseases.

I have always been blessed with good health. I enjoyed lifting weights for almost thirty years of my life, going to the gym six days a week. At six foot one, I typically weighed 235 good pounds during those years. My friends never hesitated in asking me to help them move. I remember once lifting a refrigerator on the back of a pickup while the others stood back to see me do it.

Then in 2006, while living in New Jersey, I fell down in my apartment. I tore both quad ligaments of the knees. The surgeon said it was very odd to see both quads tear. They were inconclusive why it had happened. I thought, "just my luck." Rehab lasted twelve weeks and during that time I lost twenty pounds and lots of strength.

My return to the gym was a struggle. My attempt to regain my size and strength seemed futile. My efforts did not even help me maintain what I had. My age and the quad injury were my only explanation. I still was strong just not like what I had been. Occasionally, I would fall down. I blamed my knees and never though much of it.

By the end of 2008, I began having difficulty breathing. Friends would describe me as a "fish out of water." My weight kept creeping downwards and I realized I could not cough. That was enough for me to go see my general practitioner.

I was living in Orlando at the time and when I told my GP that I worried about not coughing and the possibility of choking, he had me get a chest x-ray which showed excessive scarring. He sent me off to a cardiologist and the cardiologist sent me back to my GP - no prognosis.

Next I went to a pulmonary physician who thought I suffered from sleep apnea and once that was treated he believed all would go back to normal. It didn't. Still losing weight, my GP sent me to a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy. The list of doctors goes on, but I never stopped asking, "why can't I cough?"

By February of 2009 I weighed 165 pounds. My appetite was shot, energy was gone, and my breathing had worsened. I collapsed in my townhouse and the EMS took me to the hospital. I had no idea that I had double pneumonia. While in the hospital, they repeated all the x-rays, tests and CAT scans that I had had during the year. The conclusion? No prognosis. They suggested that I get a muscle biopsy and to see a neurologist specializing in muscle. The neurologist at the hospital was a stroke specialist. He hinted at ALS and two other disorders.

For my second opinion in Houston, an EMG was ordered and my muscle biopsy was reviewed. I was then living in Laredo with my sister. The doctor didn't want us to drive all the way back to Houston for the news so he told me over the phone. I had ALS. They seemed surprised that I took the news so calmly. I was too.

In the last three years, my faith in God has grown. I know He leads me down a path. He is with me each step, each day, reassuring me that whatever it brings, He knows I can handle it. I survived today and tomorrow won't be much different. No need to look ahead; it's today that is important.

I am not in any pain. I suffer with inconveniences. My strength and endurance continue to decline. Simple tasks take longer to accomplish. Shaving and showering is a planned activity. I walk through the house with the aid of a walker. I'm bent over so much that I cut myself short of oxygen.

My sister and her husband have opened their home to me. I can't thank them enough. They are my caretakers, and I worry that I'll wear them down. My goal is to maintain my dignity to the end. With God at my side, I will.

Would you please consider making a donation to my effort to become an Iron Phi?  You can make a donation on this page by clicking on the "Make a Gift" link below the thermometer. You can also send a check made out to Iron Phi to me at 105 Merlin, Laredo, TX 78041 if you'd rather donate that way.