Moore faces expensive treatments and reality of life with ALS
Dec. 18, he and his family received the news: He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The first symptoms appeared in the vocal cords.
Gary Don Moore felt hoarse but didn’t think much of it. After all, he coaches football, and he’s accustomed to yelling at his players at Plano East High School.
“I thought I had damaged my vocal cords from yelling because it was hard to talk,” he said. “That was really the only symptom for like a year, but it just gradually got worse instead of better.”
And then a few other strange signs happened: loss of strength and weight as well as muscle spasms, for example. “When all those weird things started happening, I knew there was probably something else going on,” he said.
Moore, who lives in Celina and is the son of retired high school football coach and Pilot Point resident G.A. Moore, sought the counsel of several doctors. Finally, on Dec. 18, he and his family received the news: He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Friends organize fundraiser for G.A. Moore’s son
A fundraiser for Moore has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 10 at Celina High School to pay for medical bills. A barbecue dinner will be served. Family, friends and supporters are seeking volunteers, food, and items for a silent and live auction for the event.
The family wants to raise $300,000, with Radicava treatments for ALS costing $150,000 a year. The family wants to pay for the treatments for two years. The FDA approved Radicava last year, and Radicava has shown to slow down the decline of physical ability in ALS patients by a third, according to ALS News Today.
“Although Radicava is not a cure, it may be an important advance in helping people live with the disease,” according to the ALS Association’s website. “Because people with ALS experience varying rates of progression, slowing the decline of that loss of function is important. Depending on a person’s level of function when they begin treatment, the impact Radicava demonstrated in clinical trials could translate into potentially helping people preserve function longer.”
Gary Don said he looks for anything that can help.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
For more information about or to help with the Feb. 10 fundraiser, call Carol Lynn at 214-232-8300, Kenzie Taylor Ballard at 940-453-3533, or Patti Dellenbaugh at 214-236- 9503.
Information about the fundraiser can be found on Facebook at Gary Don Fund/ Raiser Auction. Raffle tickets also will be sold.
T-shirts and bracelets will be sold at the fundraiser. Dropoffs for goods and donations are at Notoriously Yours on The Square in Pilot Point, Keller Williams at 806 U.S. 377 in Aubrey, and Celina Elementary School at 550 Utah Drive in Celina.
