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Tampa

Fundraiser fights back against ALS

A real estate investor who has lost four family members to Lou Gehrig's disease organizes a race to help find a cure.

By TRACY SMALL
Published May 6, 2005

Stacy Wilson is all too familiar with Lou Gehrig's disease.

She watched her father deteriorate and eventually die from it. Three other relatives she never met died from it.

All were stricken with a rare genetic case of the lethal illness, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Although most cases of ALS strike people randomly, a few are passed on through genes.

Wilson, a real estate investor from South Tampa, obviously has fears for her own future. She's fighting back by organizing a fund-raising race May 14 at Al Lopez Park, 4810 N Himes Ave.

"The response I'm getting from the community is overwhelming. More and more people keep signing up," said Wilson, 29. "I'm doing this for everyone who's ever been affected by ALS."

The 5K walk/run will begin at 8 a.m., followed by a 1-mile run at 8:45 a.m. People can preregister online or on race day, starting at 6:45 a.m. The cost is $20 for the 5K and $10 for the 1-mile in advance.

Tampa City Attorney David Smith, whose wife, Ann, died of ALS, will officially start the races. Participants will range from the healthy to the disabled, and everyone who crosses the finish line will receive a red wristband with the words "Strike out ALS."

The fund-raiser will also include a silent auction of donated items, including gift certificates, bottles of wine, a football signed by quarterback Joe Montana and a baseball signed by New York Yankee Tino Martinez, Wilson said.

After the race, there will be live music by Swizzlestix and food donated by Einstein Bros. Bagels and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Prizes will go to winners in different age groups.

There is no cure for ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that results in muscle paralysis. Eventually, people lose the ability to move their limbs and the muscles needed to breathe.

Each year, about 5,600 Americans are diagnosed with the disease.

Wilson hopes she'll never be one of them. The disease is typically diagnosed in people between the ages of 40 and 70, and rarely shows in people in their 20s and 30s.

She started organizing the race as part of a self-expression leadership program she's taking.

"I could have done any project" she said. "But this is about me facing my mortality and confronting it."

For information, call Stacy Wilson at 254-7747. To preregister online, go to www.active.com and click on "individual sports." Under the heading "find an event," type in "life saving race."

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 01:31:12]