I offered to speak at a fundraiser for the ALS Society of BC held at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was a tasty and well attended event, with appetizers and local wines from various providers. I had 9 extended family members there for support. Here is my speech:

As I listened to my introduction, it dawned on me that we go through life attaching ourselves to labels. It’s one of the ways that we bring order into our busy lives. You may slot yourselves into a label such as a doctor, lawyer, mother, father. There are many.

In the 90’s my label was that of a professional athlete. I voluntarily hurled myself and my bike along dirt trails down the mountainside. I was the fastest woman in BC in 1996. It was an accomplishment I was very proud of. Another of my labels is artist. I love to draw and paint; and have made art my profession as a graphic designer.

One of my greatest accomplishments is that I am now a mother of two beautiful daughters. Both have inherited my artistic inclinations, and the youngest seems to have inherited my love of speed, much to our chagrin. However my newest label is that of a person with ALS. It’s not the kind of label that I had expected in my life, but none of us ever does.

When I was diagnosed with ALS 2 years ago by my neurologist, he must have thought of me as a cold person who deals with their troubles on the inside. The truth of the situation was that I had no idea what I had just been told. Sure, I’ve heard of Lou Gehrig’s disease, but I didn’t really know what it was all about. I’ve seen Stephen Hawking on TV and read some of his books, but I never knew what his condition was. So there I was, with a new label that I didn’t even know what it meant.

People are multi-faceted organisms. As I said before, we have many labels, but it is our choice of what to associate ourselves with. So I have chosen to use my ALS label to enrich my life. My family and I travelled around the world last year. It was an amazing experience especially seeing the world through the eyes of a 3 and 5 year old. In the last year I’ve taken my eldest daughter up to Yellowknife to show her where she was born and to see the Aurora, or northern lights, after which she is named. I have piloted a dogsled team, gone heli-skiing, ridden an elephant and patted an adult tiger. These are experiences of a lifetime and I am grateful for having the chance to do these with my family.

I am also grateful for the support of my family, many of whom are here tonight. I am grateful for the support of my small community in Revelstoke, who have banded together to help us realise these goals in the last 2 years. I am grateful to be living in this century, or even this decade, where we are on the cusp of some amazing breakthroughs in the research of ALS. I am grateful to be living in BC, the province that leads in research and facilities for ALS patients. Through your generous support the ALS society of BC helps families affected with ALS in many ways, easing the burden of a difficult time for all involved.

We never know what life may throw at us, so I have learned to value each day, and keep a positive attitude. It could be you, your sister, your cousin or best friend in this position, young or old, so I am thanking you for your support, for myself, for those that have passed, and those who are yet to be.