History

Jeff was diagnosed January 5, 1994 with ALS. He was 34 years old. His first symptoms started the summer of 1992 in his right arm. He noticed he was not as strong in his right arm as he was in his left arm. We also noticed muscle tremors across his chest and down his arm.
• 1994 - Jeff lost the use of both arms; the muscles had atrophied.
• 1995 - Jeff lost his ability to walk.
• 1996 - Jeff's breathing became affected
• 1997 - Jeff went on the ventilator; our baby was 9 months old
• 1998 - Jeff received a feeding tube
• 1999 - Jeff's speech became very difficult to understand
• 2000 - Jeff used a computer or eye blinks to communicate
• 2004 - Jeff lost his battle with ALS

"Throughout our experience in dealing with ALS, so many people have blessed and helped us that the burden and challenges of this disease seemed lightened in many ways.  We felt strongly that God was leading us to 'do something' with our experience- to be good stewards of this situation. Therefore, we started the ALS Iron Horse Foundation in order to help other families struggling with this disease."

The ALS Iron Horse Foundation is set up to help individuals and families with the daily challenges of living with ALS. A diagnosis of ALS is devastating and brings great challenges. It is overwhelming to individuals and families financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Our foundation helps ALS individuals and their families cope with the challenges of this disease. The foundation endeavors to lessen the overwhelming nature of this disease by establishing awareness of ALS and creating community care networks of practical assistance, resources and support.

"I wrestled for Auburn University in the early eighties, played rugby and competed in triathlons. I trained hard each day to be tough.

"In 1992, during my rigid nightly sets of push-ups and pull-ups, I began to notice I was growing weaker instead of stronger. I had almost never been sick, and I pushed through any sports injury with gritty determination. But this was different. I was reluctant to go to a doctor until the day I struggled to pick up a mere gallon of milk.

"’Iron Horse’ was the nickname given to baseball legend Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees. Gehrig was famous for consistency and excellence. He scored over 100 runs a year and played an amazing 2,130 consecutive games over a span of fourteen years! He was known as the game's great gentleman. Team mate, Sam Jones, said, "I would want my son to be just like Lou." I wanted to be just like Lou Gehrig, except I did not want to face the same physical battle he had fought.

In 1939, the Iron Horse stood before thousands of admiring fans in Yankee Stadium. Weak from a mysterious muscle-wasting disease, he bid a tearful good-bye to the sport he loved and the fans who loved him. Two years later, in 1941, Lou Gehrig died of ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the disease that now bears his name. In 1994, I received my own diagnosis of ALS and it has been a tough fight. For a decade, my wife and I have watched this disease impair my ability to communicate and sap my strength to the point that I can no longer breathe on my own. If what you do defines who you are, then I am in trouble. Through this disease, unable to do so many things, I have learned that who I am is defined not by man, but by my Maker."