Baseball fans saw Major League Baseball players and organizations honour baseball star Lou Gehrig and raise awareness about the disease named after him.
Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), affects between 2,500 to 3,000 Canadians and 200 to 250 Saskatchewan residents.
Since 2021, every June 2nd, the MLB recognizes Lou Gehrig Day, which also marks the start of ALS Awareness Month in Canada.
While many baseball fans might be aware of the disease and its impact on one of the sport’s greatest stars, the general public might know the name but not the toll it takes on those it affects.
The ALS Society of Canada describes ALS as a disease that gradually paralyzes people because the brain can no longer communicate with the muscles of the body that we are typically able to move at will. Over time, as the body’s muscles break down, someone living with ALS will lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and eventually breathe.
Currently, there is no cure for ALS and few treatment options for most people living with the disease. Approximately 80 per cent of people with ALS die within two to five years of diagnosis.
Shawn Dreger, the president of the ALS Society of Saskatchewan, said having a day and month dedicated to raising awareness is important so people can understand.
“They don’t know much about it. It just raises awareness amongst everybody about ALS, so people understand it more. So when they know somebody or a friend of somebody that has the disease, they’re just more aware of it.”
Dreger said that while there is no cure at this time, new treatments are always coming out.
“There’s always lots of research being done with ALS, and we’re encouraged that some of the newer drugs are actually holding the disease off, and some people have actually reserved the disease a little bit,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go, and the drugs are very expensive, but again, we’re encouraged about that. Even if we can put the disease off for a little while, it’s absolutely huge.”
“We have one lady in Saskatchewan, she used to be a ballet dancer, and they go on their toe, and for many years she wasn’t able to do that. She is one of the people experimenting with this new drug, and she’s able to do that.”
At the ALS Society, Dreger said that they work to lend equipment and provide mental and physical support to those suffering from the disease and their caretakers.
He added that it encourages people to take a moment out of their day and find out more information.
“Go on and Google “Lout Gehrig’s Disease or ALS, just to find out a bit more,” he said. “Chances are somewhere along your path; you will come in contact with somebody with the disease. We just want to get the word out there about the disease, how you can help the patients and their families with the disease.”
To find out more information about ALS or Lou Gegrig’s Disease, you can visit the ALS Society of Canada’s website.
