Donna Kato, Bill’s Crew Team Captain, Walk ALS Chicago
2022 was the first year we participated in the Walk ALS, so we just enjoyed being part of our 2nd Walk this past June. With the help of my two granddaughters, we decided our team name was BILL’S CREW. Bill, (their Papa), was always part of a team with family, work, and even in our neighborhood. He was a hard worker his whole life, and we are in turn going to work hard to keep his memory alive by participating in this Walk each year.
My husband, Bill, was diagnosed with ALS in November 2020. By January 2021, he entered into hospice care, and in May 2021, he passed away. He felt that he was virtually stripped of any hope from the day we heard the diagnosis. Hearing “you have ALS” is unlike many other diseases. There is no cure, and very little treatment or medication to slow progression of this disease that takes everything from a person and their family. ALS United Illinois immediately reached out to us when diagnosed. The staff was supportive of our challenges after Bill’s diagnosis; he was simply too far progressed for us to be able to use many of the services. After Bill passed, I felt determined to help make a change for future patients that receive this diagnosis. Becoming a team leader for the Walk was a huge step in my own grief journey to do my part in raising awareness, as well as funds, for ALS. I pray that future ALS patients will have HOPE! Hope for treatments that slow progression. Hope that someday the cause and cure will be found.
The feeling of love, understanding and camaraderie that is felt being part of the Walk is like nothing I have experienced before. ALS and all the challenges it presents to a patient and their loved ones is something that cannot be adequately explained to anyone. To be surrounded on the day of the Walk by hundreds of people that “get it” is an intense emotion for me. Many of us may be strangers, yet we are also part of a supportive family that is all working towards the same goal.
If I were to share a message with someone who has never been to a Walk event, it would be: ATTEND! Become part of something bigger than yourself! It feels SO good to DO good! Couple that with the supportive and fun atmosphere at the Walk, and knowing you are bringing hope to those living with ALS, is a wonderfully fulfilling experience. This Walk is a chance to change the statistics, to bring help and hope to those impacted by ALS.