Today, about five thousand Americans a year are diagnosed with ALS. Scientists still don't know what causes the disease, and they still ddon't have a cure. Most patients die within two or three years of diagnosis. In other words, not much has changed since 1941. The biggest difference, perhaps, is that the malady is now widely referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease. Gehrig helped lift this rare and poorly understood malady from obscurity. Countless millions of dollars have been raised for scientific research thanks in part to his good name.
Many neurologists still hang pictures of the ballplayer in their offices and examination rooms. When they break the news to patients with ALS, they almost always invoke his name. "It hits them like a fastball between the eyes," says Dr. Anthony J. Windebank of the Mayo Clinic. "Everyone knows Gehrig died young." But after the initial shock, patients often reflect on Gehrig's response to his diagnosis rather than the outcome of his illness.
ALS is a disease of weakness, but Lou Gehrig's disease is associated with strength -- the strength of a stricken man who said he felt lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment