As a licensed cosmetologist and hairdresser for 19 years, Janie Gobeli was concerned when she began to lose strength and dexterity in her right hand. Walking was already difficult for her, having recently broken her kneecap in a fall. Soon …
Faces of ALS: Giving thanks for those magical moments
Wendell Meyer enjoyed gardening, tackling household projects and being active in his church. By profession, he worked as a business analyst at the American Medical Association. When he began to rapidly lose weight, he decided to seek out answers with …
Year-End Giving: Hope and Help for People Living With ALS
Victor was 14 years old when his father, an avid marathon runner, was diagnosed with ALS. To this day, he remembers how much the support his family received from the Les Turner ALS Foundation meant to them. “Anyone who is …
November 2022 Foundation eNews
Foundation News Grants that make a difference The Les Turner ALS Foundation offers several grant programs to help provide financial assistance, independence and empowerment for people living with ALS. In 2022, we will have funded nearly 80 grants – made possible …
Faces of ALS: A true brotherhood
Jim Thew joined the Navy in 1991 and was stationed as an aircraft mechanic at the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Ayase, Kanagawa, Japan, where he met his wife, Kumiko. In 1999, they moved to Illinois to take care of …
Faces of ALS: Raising his voice in advocacy for ALS
Rob Faulstich’s advocacy journey began when his sister-in-law, Diane Costello, was diagnosed with ALS in late 2018. “Prior to Diane’s diagnosis, she had difficulty walking and was tripping frequently going up stairs and curbs,” says Rob. “When she sought treatment …
Donor Spotlight: Foglia Family Foundation
As a lifelong baseball fan, Vince Foglia knew about ALS after having heard Lou Gehrig’s famous speech announcing that he had the disease. “ALS had always grabbed my attention because it is a cruel disease for which there is no …
Les Turner ALS Foundation CEO named to NIH ALS Strategic Plan Working Group
Andrea Pauls Backman, chief executive officer of the Les Turner ALS Foundation, has been invited by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to serve as a working group member on its ALS Strategic Planning Team and …
New results show promise in treatment of SOD1-ALS
New results from the Phase 3 clinical trial of tofersen, a drug in development by Biogen, have shown promise in treatment of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). According to the 12-month data, earlier initiation of treatment with …
NU-9 Update: Experimental drug repairs upper motor neurons in mouse model
As connecting fibers between motor neurons, axons help deliver vital messages between the brain and the spinal cord. For people living with ALS, deteriorating axons cause that connection to break, contributing to paralysis and death. Early research on NU-9, an …
