| October 12th, 2016

FAMU Student Will Honor Family at ALS Walk in Tallahassee

By: journeymagazine

Words By: Rashad Stafford

The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association will be hosting their Tallahassee “Walk to Defeat ALS” on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at Cascades Park.

Aleia Asbey, a senior occupational therapy student, plans to honor her family during the walk.

This walk is more than a walk for Asbey and her family. They have lost a total of four family members to this life-altering disease. This walk means everything to Asbey.

“Being able to walk for a cure for ALS is always good feeling. Every time I do it, I think of my grandmother, 2 aunts, and uncle and everyone who has suffered from this disease and what they had to go through,” Asbey said.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis.

To date, there is no cure for ALS.

Walk organizers say the annual “Walk to Defeat ALS” is the ALS Association’s biggest event — raising money that allows local ALS Association chapters to sustain care services and support research for much of the next year.

According to event organizers, the “Walk to Defeat ALS” has raised more than 175 million dollars since its debut in 2000.

The goal of the Tallahassee walk is to bring awareness and raise $25,000 in order to help fund research efforts in finding a cure for ALS.

Asbey is also on her own quest to spreading knowledge and awareness of ALS. She has started working on her screenplay entitled “4 Voices Unheard” which tells her family’s ongoing battle with ALS, which can be found on YouTube.

To make a donation or participate in the walk, please visit alsa.org.