May is ALS awareness month. I’m sure that anyone reading this post is more than aware of ALS at this point, but let’s keep talking about it anyway. Otherwise this might have to be a blog devoted to my love of tortilla chips. Happy Cinco de Mayo, by the way. And how about that Ted Cruz? No! Stop! This is an ALS blog. Puppies.

ALS TDI is running a campaign this month called #InThreeWords. They are asking people to come up with three words to explain how ALS makes them feel. I thought it was something that Scarlett and I would do together, but that didn’t work out as planned, and you can hear why by watching this 1-minute video I made to share my three words. It’s G rated.

I’m coming up on four years since my diagnosis in June 2012. So much has changed since that time, and in some ways, things are clearer to me now than they were back in those confusing first months. I know that we can make ALS history, and that lives can be saved. But it takes work. It takes money. It takes collaboration.

Next month we will be launching the second #WhatWouldYouGive campaign. For those who are not aware of it, this fundraiser challenges people to give up an ability for one day or even just a few hours to begin to understand what life might be like for a person living with ALS.

The fundraiser was a huge success last year, raising nearly $200,000 for ALS TDI and their precision medicine program. Team members reached out to their networks beginning in June, and took the challenges the first week of August. We will be doing it the same way this year, and I will post more detail about how you can join the team, donate, and get the word out.

Plus this year, there will be a prize for the team or individual who raises the most money (not including me or Rob) and another prize for the team or individual who raises the most money and is not related to me.

So although ALS awareness month is important to me, I’m committed to raising awareness all the time, and I’m going to be especially vocal this summer during our campaign.

We need to keep pushing. Today, people will be diagnosed with ALS. I want to be able to tell them that they will live through this. That their timing was good. That there are so many of us working to erase this disease.

My three words? I’M NOT DONE. Not even close.

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