My name is Matthew Scott Usher. My w
ife and I have three wonderful children ages 19, 10 and 9. But I don’t know if I will be able to see them graduate from school, get married or have their own children…because I have ALS.
I was diagnosed with ALS in August of 2017. My strength has greatly diminished from what was normal for me. I walk with a cane, but I can barely make it more than 100 feet. I can’t mow the lawn. I can’t help out around the house. I can barely make my own lunch. I used to work as an engineer, but I had to retire earlier this year. And I have started to wear a ventilator to help me with my breathing.
But your support gives me hope for a better quality of life with my family.
Because of you, the Les Turner ALS Foundation is able to give me the resources I need to make modi ications to my home, including a stair lift. Now I can continue to help put my children to bed each night. Your generous gift makes my life better. I hope you will renew your support with a gift today.
The stress ALS has placed on my family is indescribable. My children fear losing their father. I don’t know if I will be able to grow old with my wife. My disease is not only taking a physical and emotional toll on me, but on those I love most. And I didn’t know how to help them. But the Foundation has been there for me and my family, when we needed them most, every step of the way.
The Les Turner ALS Foundation has treated me and my family with respect and compassion. They come into my home and address my personal needs, even before I know what those needs are. They are there when I need them. And when my wife and kids need them. They have become part of our family.
They could not be here if it weren’t for your generosity. Your gift is so important to me and my family.
In September 2019, through a new partnership with Hope Loves Company, Inc., the Foundation will offer a weekend sleepover camp in the Chicagoland area for children and young adults who have or had a loved one battling ALS, called Camp HLC.
Camp HLC will provide an opportunity to create lifelong friendships and connections with other young people in the Chicagoland area going through similar, painful situations. And the camp is free to all families living with ALS, like mine. It’s your support that makes things like this possible.
It’s hard to ask for help. Without the Les Turner ALS Foundation, I don’t know where I would turn. And with your support, I have hope. Please give today.
Thank you. My wife and my children thank you. Thank you for being a part of the Les Turner ALS family.
Together with hope,
Scott
P.S. Did you know that 90 minutes from now someone else will be diagnosed with ALS, just like me? Visit HelpCureALS.org and put your gift to work today.
