ALS

2 Pages 595 Words

Introduction


I. Lou Gehrig
A. He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time by hitting 493 career home runs. (www.mlb.com)
B. Nicknamed the “Iron Horse” for playing in 2130 consecutive games.
C. Late in his career he developed ALS, a disease that is now often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
II. My grandma developed “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” when I was in second grade.
A. I remember every time that I went and visited her that she seemed to get progressively weaker.
B. After putting up an extremely hard fight, my grandma died of ALS in January of my third grade year.
III. Today I would like to inform you about the disease that took my grandmas life by explaining the disease, who is effected by it, and treatments used for ALS.
(Transition) – Lets start with an overview of what ALS is and what it does to the body.

Body


I. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrigs Disease. (www.als.net)
A. The disease attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
1. Motor neurons are used to send impulses to muscles, but due to ALS they are unable to perform this task and the muscles begin to wear away.
2. Symptoms of ALS include cramping, loss of motor control in arms and legs, and falling or dropping things often.
a. My grandma fell and had to be taken to the ER. (Grandpa)
i. That is when we first learned of her having ALS.
B. After being diagnosed with ALS there is a wide life expectancy rate.
1. Half of everyone affected lives between three and five years after they are diagnosed.
2. 20% of people make it to live between five and 10 years, while another twenty percent fail to live three years after being diagnosed.
3. Ten percent of ALS patients are fortunate enough to live ten years after being diagnosed with the disease.
(Transition) – Since we have looked at what ALS does to the body we will look at who gets ALS in the United States.

II. There is no ...