Karen Mey ALS Fund

My name is Steven Mey and I'm writing this on behalf of the whole Mey and Tsacoyianis family. My family and I have lived in Watertown our whole lives, and both of my parents attended Watertown High. My sister, Kristina, and I also went to Watertown High. My sister now studies at Middlesex Community College and I study at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. My parents first started dating while at Watertown High and got married shortly after graduating. Watertown has always been and will always be our home, and we are hoping to recieve some support from the community.
My mother, Karen, suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. Her symptoms began a couple of years ago, where she was having pain and weakness in her right hand. Working as an accountant at the Chateau Restaurant where she was at her computer all day, she believed that it was just carpal tunnel and thought nothing of it. As time went on, her symptoms began to progress and the weakness in her right arm became significantly worse. She also was now feeling pain in her left arm. After consulting with her primary care doctor, she was suggested to a neurologist at Mount Auburn Hospital. At Mount Auburn, extensive testing was performed and the head of neurology diagnosed my mother with benign ALS, meaning she had ALS symptoms. The doctor suggested we get a second opinion elsewhere, and we did so at Tufts Medical Center, where they believed she had an unknown motor neuron disease. At Tufts, my mother was put on infusions that were supposed to help her regain strength and mobility in her arms. However, the infusions had no real affects, which made the doctors lean more towards her original ALS diagnosis.
With her symptoms continuing to worsen, we turned to Mass. General Hospital, where they have an ALS/MS clinic. Mass General ran similar tests to the ones at Mount Auburn and Tufts, but they gave us a real diagnosis. My mother was officially diagnosed with ALS in June, 2016. A set of infusions were done at Mass General that had led to increases in strength and mobility in some patients. Sadly, these infusions had no positive effects on my mom.
There is no cure for ALS at this time, so my mom has not been receiving real treatment. Since she first started getting symptoms, my moms health condition has become significantly worse. At the beginning of my senior year, my moms right arm was really the only problem she was having. I remember her walking out on senior night at my football game, having no problems holding the flowers I gave her and taking the picture. Months later, in the spring, she now had almost no mobility in her right arm and her left arm was in very rough condition. She also now had weakness in both of her legs. My mom still was able to walk out on my senior night for baseball. She continued to get worse over the summer, but she was still able to come to some of my football games at WPI with the help from my dad. Since then, my mom has lost all mobility and strength in her arms. She can no longer walk, and she cannot do any normal activities without the assistance from my dad. It is very scary to see how fast this disease has progressed, but we always have a positive outlook on our situation.
With the condition my mother is in, she requires many things that the typical person doesn't. We are always going to give my mom the best care we possibly can, but these things can be expensive. For the people who know my mom, you can understand why she is so important to our family. Growing up, my mom gave my sister and I anything and everything we wanted. She really did spoil us, and there is nothing I can do to show her how much I appreciate and love her. My family and I were very hesitant with making this post, mostly because my mom and dad are too proud to ask for help. However, I think there are a lot of people that know my mom and my family and would like to help. This money would go a long way for us, helping pay for medical expenses, medical equipment, home health care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, transportation, and many more beneficial things. Thank you for taking the time to read this!