Amy, Amanda and Alysia Ritsma have been affected by ALS since before they were even born.
The young women have lost six relatives to the fatal neuromuscular disease. Their grandmother and aunt both succumbed to the disease before the sisters were born. In their lifetimes, they’ve lost four more relatives: another aunt, an uncle, a cousin, and, most significantly, their father.
ALS affects more than 1,000 Ontarians and their families at any given. In 90 to 95 per cent of cases, there is no known family history of the disease, which robs most people affected of the ability to move, speak and eventually breathe. The Ritsmas, however, have been hit with the rarer familial form of the disease.
To help raise funds and build awareness of a cause close to their hearts, the Ritsma sisters and their family, the “Resilient Ritsmas,” are participating in the Stratford WALK for ALS on June 20th at Upper Queen’s Park.
“We’re thankful for the walk not only because it raises money and awareness, but for the time they allow us to spend together as a family each year. The walk also brings closure to our family,” says Amy Ritsma.
Now in its ninth year, the WALK for ALS is the ALS Society of Ontario’s signature event and largest annual fundraiser. Stratford has raised close to $40,000 since the city’s first walk in 2007. Seventy per cent of the proceeds fund equipment and support services programs for people with ALS and their families. The remainder funds ALS research.
Registration for the Stratford walk begins at 9 a.m., with the walk starting at 10:30 a.m. Stratford is one of 28 locations across Ontario holding walks this year.
“The ALS Society of Ontario’s goal is to help ease the physical, emotional and financial burdens ALS creates,” says Maureen Sheahan, President & CEO, ALS Society of Ontario. “With the help of volunteers and supporters across the province, we’ve grown the WALK for ALS into our most successful and anticipated event. We ask the public to help us continue this success story in 2009.”
For more information, or to support the walk, visit www.walkforals.ca.
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal and rapidly progressive neuromuscular disease affecting more than 1,000 Ontarians and their families. There is no cure or effective treatment. Eighty per cent of those affected die within two to five years of diagnosis. The ALS Society of Ontario is a non-profit organization committed to providing equipment and support services to increase quality of life and provide independence, dignity, hope and choice to people with ALS.
