ALS - Annie's Story
My name is Anne McFee (my close friends and family call me “Annie”), and I am an ordinary person with an extraordinary Challenge.
As a wife and mother that had a fulfilling career as Tennis Director, Athletic Facility Executive Director and Development Director for the “Y”, I’ve always been health conscious, so in the Fall of 2016, when I began to have mobility issues, I immediately sought answers.
For two years, I went through examinations and testing from many different medical professionals, with no clear diagnosis. In October of 2018, at the age of 60, my family and I were devastated as we were told I have ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Delayed diagnosis is very common for many ALS patients as it is a process of elimination and a clinical diagnosis.
While devastating, ALS is giving me an opportunity for a life purpose that is bigger than me or the disease, itself. ALS will not define me.
I designed the Annie bracelet as a way to expand awareness and funding for ALS research. The design has specific meaning for all who are impacted by this disease. Scroll down to read more about the meaning of each component of the bracelet.
To learn more about ALS and the voluntary efforts behind finding a cure….http://neurology.emory.edu/ALS/
Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes someone dies from ALS.
There are only 30,000 cases in a country of 365 million people.
This disease affects not only those who have it, but ALL of those who are in their lives.
