My dad had ALS symptoms for nearly a year before he was diagnosed in 2017. When we finally got the diagnosis, my heart sank. I knew what ALS was, and I knew that it was 100% fatal.

I knew the years ahead were going to be difficult, but I don’t think I could have ever fully understood just how difficult it would be to watch my dad slowly lose the abilities so many of us take for granted. Over the next few years, he lost his ability to walk, eat, move, and eventually breathe on his own. And within each of those losses were a hundred smaller losses along the way—little pieces of independence, everyday moments, and things that once seemed so simple.

I wish my family never had to know what that experience was like. I wish no family ever had to.

That is why I’m asking for your help.

While we have come a long way, there is still so much we don’t understand about ALS, and there is so much more work that science needs to do to find better treatments and, ultimately, a cure. Your support can help make that work possible. It can help fund research, provide support and resources to people living with ALS, and help their families navigate a disease that changes everything.

It was too late for my dad. But one day, it won’t be too late for someone else.