A Niagara ALS patient advocate got a shout-out during yesterday's Blue Jays game as Major League Baseball marked the first Lou Gehrig Day.
Steven Gallagher is living with ALS and passionately speaking out on the need for supports and better medical care and therapies for people diagnosed with the debilitating disease.
He got a shout out as MLB marked the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day on the anniversary of the day in 1925 that Gehrig became the Yankee's starting first baseman and the date he died at the age of 37.
ALS is a progressive nervous system disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing the loss of muscle control.
Gallagher has been sharing his journey on social media, providing an honest, and sometimes stark, look at the reality of life for people diagnosed with the fatal disease.
He is currently raising funds for the Walk to End ALS coming up on June 20th.
Some of his colleagues from Niagara Health have surprised him with a team named in honour of his daughter's stuffed animal, Larry the Lemur, who frequently makes appearances on Zoom calls.
Gallagher has already surpassed his $1,000 fundraising goal, while the hospital team, Larry's Interns, are very close to hitting their $10,000 target.
ALS Canada marks ALS Awareness Month in June.