Helping the Baril family cope with ALS

Hello everyone.

I am writing on behalf of myself and my family. I am the oldest child in a family of five (plus one senior dog!).  My father, upon whom my family and I are dependent, was diagnosed with Bulbar ALS in September of 2019.

ALS, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (colloquially known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), is a terminal disease which is characterized by mayoclinic.org as “often [starting] in the hands, feet or limbs, and then [spreading] to other parts of your body. As the disease advances and nerve cells are destroyed, your muscles get weaker. This eventually affects chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.” Bulbar ALS is a subcategory of the disease wherein deterioration progresses muchfaster than standard ALS, making for a shorter length of survival, and often necessitates increased multidisciplinary support needs, according to frontiersin.org.


As I mentioned previously, my father was the main provider for our family. My mother underwent three separate operations within three years, rendering her unable to work, and since my father’s diagnosis, she has become his main caretaker.
With COVID, my youngest brother has been laid off of his part-time employment. I have taken Compassionate care leave, but do not make enough to sustain our family. We were always a mid-to-low income family, but with so many changes,we are on the verge of facing a financial crisis. We are deeply fortunate to have a house during these times, but it’s quite old and needs lots of help that we are not able to provide.

Our plumbing has been problematic for a few years now;most of our sinks do not drain properly or have issues with dripping, as well as some sinks which lead to others. We have had to remove the carpeting downstairs due to water and mold damage. Additionally, the structure of our back has begun collapsing, starting with the stairs,which have been broken for years at this point. Our vehicle does not function,meaning that my family and I rely on public transportation when we can, and during COVID we have tried to limit the use of public transit as much as possible, due to the fact that my father is at high risk because of his disease.


Basically, we are in dire need of some help.
All money raised will go into fixing our home. We are very, very fortunate that some amenities for my father are covered by the ALS Society, and we are grateful to live in a place that makes that coverage possible. These are trying times, and we are fully aware and empathetic that not everyone is in a situation to donate.
If you can, please share. And remember that every penny counts -- no donation is too small.
We are grateful to all of you, even for simply taking the time to read this.

Some links referenced and other helpful resources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis/symptoms-
causes/syc-20354022
https://als.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BulbarALS-English.pdf
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.00106/full

Sincerely,

The Baril Family