Gordy Ferkul & Family

Hello All!

My name is Caitlyn Ferkul and I am the daughter of Gordy and Annie Ferkul, it is always hard to ask for help but we are in need of it. My dad hasn’t been able to work the last year due to the COVID pandemic and declining health. We all thought the signs he was showing was just depression until he took a turn last month. We ended up bringing him into Sanford with no health insurance and they admitted him right away. 2 weeks later he was still in the hospital and we received the diagnosis that no one wants to hear. Gordy has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS. When you’re diagnosed with ALS you are told you likely have a 2-to-5-year lifespan and during that time your ability to walk, speak and breathe will slowly slip away. Some people can live for decades with ALS while some people lose their battle in a relatively short amount of time. There is no way of knowing how the ravaging effects of this disease will specifically impact your body or for how long. Unfortunately besides having ALS he also has front temporal dementia which makes the diagnosis an even shorter timeline for him to around a year or less…We have been told it is unsafe to bring Gordy home and he will need a round the clock care in a nursing home. With my dad not being able to work and there being only one providing income we are going to be facing a serious struggle with finances to take care of my dad and have the right care provided to him. We appreciate all the prayers along this rough journey, I will post more updates as they come.