On Friday September 7, I represented the ALS Therapy Alliance (ATA) and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) with CVS at Fenway Park. This event, which until this year had only been with ATA, has been extended to include CFF. It’s the fourth year I’ve photographed this amazing event.
CEO of CVS Caremark, Jon Roberts, presented a check for $5,118,433 to Dr Horvitz (ATA), Dr Brown (ATA), Treg Charlton (a regional CVS Director living with ALS), Brenda Fox, and children Lucas and Hannah (who both have cystic fibrosis). The money was raised during a one-month campaign at nationwide CVS stores where customers were asked to donate between $1 and $3 at checkout.
The money is invaluable to both organizations as they continue to search for causes and cures.
Lucas Fox did an amazing job throwing out the first pitch in front of Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays fans … after a huge thunderstorm had passed!
ALS is a rapidly progressing neurological disorder in which most motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain degenerate, typically over three to five years. When the motor nerve cells degenerate, many types of voluntary movement are impaired and ultimately lost. In most cases, the cause of ALS is unknown. About 10% of cases run in families. There is no cure for ALS. A single drug called riluzole is approved for use in ALS, but at best it modestly slows the disease. ALS Therapy Alliance researchers are dedicated to discovering new treatments for ALS and several experimental drugs are in trials and in development.
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the USA. (About 70,000 worldwide.) A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce a thick sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and obstructs the pancreas. In the 1950s, few children with CF lived to attend elementary school, but today’s advances and medical treatments mean most people with CF can expect to live into their 30s and 40s.
For more information on these two organizations, please visit their websites at www.cff.org and www.alstherapyalliance.com.
