PRAIRIE DOC®
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • TV
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Friends/Sponsors of the Prairie Doc
  • Radio and Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Prairie Doc Publishing

September 11th, 2023

9/11/2023

 
Prairie Doc Perspective Week of September 10th, 2023
“ALS - Not Just Lou Gehrig’s Disease”
By Jill Kruse, DO


On July 4, 1939 Lou Gehrig said these famous words at Yankee Stadium, “For the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break that I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”  The bad break he was referring to was the diagnosis of a condition that would become synonymous with him - a neuromuscular condition called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  ALS is a disease which causes motor nerves in the brain and spinal cord to break down.  This reduces the nerves ability to control muscle function leading the muscle to weaken, twitch, and waste away. As the disease progresses it slowly impairs the person’s ability to walk, talk, swallow, and breathe. 


Lou Gehrig was only 36 years old when he was diagnosed at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  However, it is more commonly diagnosed between the ages of 55 and 75. He lived less than two years after his diagnosis with ALS. Today the average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, but some people with this disease can live much longer. The famous physicist, Steven Hawking, lived for more than 50 years after he was diagnosed with ALS. 


The cause of ALS is still unknown. Almost all cases are considered sporadic, while only five to ten percent are thought to be inherited.  One study suggested smoking may increase a person’s risk for developing ALS. Military veterans also have an increased risk of developing ALS compared to civilians.  Currently there is no single test that can predict or diagnose ALS, it is based on symptoms and a multitude of tests. While there are treatments and medications that can slow the progression of the disease. There is no cure, but research is still ongoing. 


Over eighty years later, the final words of Lou Gehrig’s speech still serve as inspiration. “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”  Major League Baseball holds “Lou Gehrig Day” every year on June 2nd. That day marks the anniversary of both when he became the starting first baseman for the New York Yankees and the day he passed away in 1941. On this day, Major League Baseball raises funds to help research ALS, to find better treatments and hopefully find a cure. Lou Gehrig’s optimism and tenacity in face of such a life changing diagnosis makes it no wonder most people know ALS as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”.  
​

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Subscribe to Newsletter
Picture
PRAIRIE DOC® MEDIA IS A PART OF HEALING WORDS FOUNDATION.

Healing Words Foundation logo
FIND SCIENCE-BASED PEDIATRIC MEDICAL INFORMATION ON OUR SISTER SITE. 
Play Eat Sleep logo
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • TV
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Friends/Sponsors of the Prairie Doc
  • Radio and Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Prairie Doc Publishing