I am honoured to be Ambassador for the 2022 Betty’s Run for ALS, especially as we all anticipate coming together in community after two years of virtual events. While I have not been a client of the ALS Society of Alberta for very long, one thing which really strikes a chord with me is, that sense of community and togetherness those of us living with ALS in Alberta feel. And to have been chosen as Ambassador in the year that gathering again means so much – it’s a true privilege.
ALS affects people of all ages, backgrounds, and career paths. I have had the pleasure of working in the film and television industry as a director and producer, living back and forth between Calgary and Vancouver for years. When COVID hit, the film I was working on shut down and my wife Karen and I decided to hunker down in Calgary. However, in May of 2020 and just two months into the pandemic I started to notice that something wasn’t quite right. I developed a drop foot and other mobility issues, and the months of tests began. Like so many, I went through the process of eliminating everything else we thought it might be – neuropathy, post-polio syndrome, MS and other diseases. But in August of 2021, while I was back on the coast working on a TV series, the ALS diagnosis was confirmed at the Clinic in Vancouver.
At that point, we decided that living primarily in one province would be a good decision, and after I finished the project I was working on we sold our place in Vancouver. We had our first appointment at the Clinic in South Calgary, and that’s when Michelle Savard entered our lives, and I was introduced to everything that the ALS Society of Alberta could offer our family.
While I am still quite new to the Society, I have been so impressed and touched by everything that is offered. I know the Equipment Loan Program is incredibly important, but what has really affected me at this point in my diagnosis are the connections that the Society provides. And especially after two years living through a pandemic, I am reminded how truly important is the need for human connection. The support groups, with whom I’ve met virtually, provide so much knowledge and assistance from others going through the same thing. I have most appreciated hearing other people’s experiences and perspectives. At the Society, everyone is open and communicative, wanting to help and provide as much knowledge and support as possible. ALS can be a disease of isolation, especially in recent times. But the ALS Society of Alberta has provided that human connection through it all, and that is perhaps what I appreciate most.
While all our stories are so very different, we are never-the-less connected through our journey with ALS. This will be my first Betty’s Run for ALS, and I am so very much looking forward to the Calgary ALS community coming together again for the first time in over two years to share those stories once more in person, on June 12th.
visit bettysrun.ca for more information