TEXAS FATHER, SON
FIGHT ALS AT SAFECO FIELD
TUCSON, Ariz., May 25, 2005 – Kingwood, Texas, resident Stuart
Nichols and his son, Andrew, are observing ALS Awareness Month by
pursuing their goal of visiting every major league baseball park in
North America.
On Memorial Day weekend, their passion for the game will lead them
to Safeco Field in Seattle to see the Mariners take on the Toronto
Blue Jays.
The game, which starts at 7:05 p.m. on May 31, will leave three ballparks
to go in the family’s efforts to see all 30 teams in their home
stadiums, a goal set by Nichols and Andrew, 22, in 1990.
Last year, Nichols received a diagnosis of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), the life-threatening disease named after
baseball great Lou Gehrig. At the Athletics’ game, he’ll
be representing the Muscular Dystrophy Association, whose ALS Division leads the world in providing research and services for people with
ALS.
ALS is a disease of the parts of the nervous system that control
voluntary muscle movement. As nerve cells are gradually lost, the
muscles they control become weak and then nonfunctional. Respiratory
complications typically develop, and without respiratory intervention,
life expectancy is three to five years after diagnosis.
May is the 14th annual ALS Awareness Month in the United States.
“I want to make more people aware of ALS and how deadly it is
and how much we need to work now to find a cure to start saving people's
lives,” said Nichols, who will be profiled on the national broadcast
of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Labor Day weekend. “I hope
to be a survivor of it, but if I'm not, I want to be remembered as
one of the people who was on the team that beat the curse of ALS.”
A global financial accounting manager for Exxon-Mobil, Nichols receives
care at the Vicki Appel MDA/ALS Center at the Methodist Hospital in
Houston.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases
through programs of worldwide research,
comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health
education. The Association maintains 34 dedicated MDA/ALS centers at major medical institutions, including the MDA/ALS Center at the
University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual
private contributors.
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