Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 20, 2015 12:44 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lawrence M. Farnese, Jr. and Sen. Rob Teplitz |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Resolution - Recognizing May 2015 as "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness (ALS) Month" in Pennsylvania |
| We will soon be introducing a resolution recognizing May 2015 as “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness (ALS) Month” in Pennsylvania. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. As the disease progresses, patients experience difficulty breathing, swallowing and speaking and eventually, muscles atrophy so that the patient becomes a functional quadriplegic. At the same time, ALS does not affect a patient’s mental capacity, so the patient remains alert and aware of his or her loss of motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued deterioration and death. Currently, there is no known cause, means of prevention, or cure. This disease most commonly affects those between the ages of 40 and 70 years and affects both men and women without bias. Research indicates that military veterans are affected at twice the rate of the general population. The ALS Association supports over 1,000 people with Lou Gehrig's Disease in Pennsylvania. They support families with ALS at Multidisciplinary Clinics in every region of the state. They also provide services such as in-home care, wheelchairs, home ramping, support groups, education programs, communication devices, and van transportation. The ALS Association also provides more money for ALS research than any other organization aside from the federal government. Please join us in recognizing and providing education on the terrible impacts of this disease by co-sponsoring this resolution. |
Introduced as SR101