All are welcome to join the ALS Association’s 11th annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Saturday at Raley Field in West Sacramento. Registration starts at 9 a.m. with the walk getting under way at 11 a.m.

Face painters, clowns and vendors will entertain the crowd in the morning. The event is free and includes a complimentary continental breakfast. Lunch will be available for purchase.

Among the teams that will participate in Saturday’s walk is The Specktaculars, formed in support of Cathy Speck of Davis, her wife Linda Duval and the Speck family.

ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that can affect anyone, but the Speck family has been hit particularly hard because of a rare genetic mutation. Their mother, Dorothy Speck, died of the disease at age 52. Each of her children has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the mutation.

Cathy Speck was diagnosed with ALS in January 2009, just months after her brother Larry died of the disease. Their brother Paul succumbed to ALS this past May.

Although ALS has robbed Speck of her singing voice — she was known for her work with Duval Speck and The Essentials — it hasn’t kept her quiet. She’s still an active ALS advocate and equal marriage rights activist using her “other voice” — writing.

“I’m a hometown girl through and through, and I can’t think of a better place to be while dying of ALS,” she says. “And by ‘dying,’ I mean living like each day is a bonus day!”

Adds April Kamen, co-captain of The Specktaculars, “Cathy, with her humor, courage and walker adorned with colorful toys, has been a tireless advocate for ALS awareness and simply enjoying the moment. We invite you to join us for a spirited walk on Oct. 1 at Raley Field, celebrating hope and life.”

To read more about Speck, to donate or register for the walkathon, visit web.alsa.org/goto/cathyspeck and click on “Donate to Cathy” or “Join Cathy’s Team.”

Funds raised through the walk will help support the Sacramento chapter’s equipment loan closet. It can cost patients more than $200,000 a year to live with ALS, and the association lessens this burden by lending medical equipment to patients in need.

Speck is using a hospital bed from this loan closet so she can remain comfortably in a position where she can breathe at night.

There is no cure or effective treatment for ALS, and although the cause is not completely understood, recent research has brought a wealth of new scientific understanding regarding the physiology of the disease.

The recent findings and identification of a new genetic link involved in the processing of accumulated proteins is offering hope to the 30,000 Americans at the mercy of ALS.

The mission of the Greater Sacramento Chapter of the ALS Association is to lead the fight to cure and treat ALS through global cutting-edge research, and to empower people with Lou Gehrig’s disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.

For more information, visit www.alssac.org or www.walktodefeatals.org.

ALS Walk2W

From left, Jessica Famula, Randi Famula, Rachel Lagamarsino and a friend walk in support of Cathy Speck at the 2009 Walk to Defeat ALS. Courtesy photo

ALS Walk1W

Cathy Speck of Davis is surrounded on her tricycle by friends and supporters on the Specktaculars team at the 2009 Walk to Defeat ALS. Courtesy photo

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