Sunday December 14, 2003
By Lisa von Eberstein
St. Tammany bureau
Times-Picayune

When Beth Giacone of Madisonville, LA was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, she decided she wasn't giving up without a fight.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness, resulting in paralysis.

There is no cure for the disease but there is promising research, and Giacone, 30, may soon be a part of a cutting-edge clinical trial.

Giacone, who works in Slidell Memorial Hospital's Outpatient Clinic, first noticed a weakness in her left hand in October 2001, which progressed into her arm and continued to spread.

After meeting with numerous neurologists and undergoing extensive testing, she was finally diagnosed with ALS this past May.

"For me being a woman and me also being a young woman, I just thought it was far off," Giacone said. "It's more prevalent in men, between 35 and 50."

On Dec. 5 Giacone met with Dr. Stanley Appel, a neurologist and ALS specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

It was their third meeting to discuss an experimental stem-cell replacement procedure through bone-marrow transplant, which could slow the disease's progress.

Giacone would be among 10 recipients of the procedure in Appel's experimental clinical trial.

Carla McIntyre of Madisonville, Giacone's friend and neighbor, said the treatment is groundbreaking.

"There have been six people who have had it done ever and she would be the first woman," McIntyre said. She and Giacone are both physical therapists.

"She has to be able to have a donor. It has to be a sibling in this study," McIntyre said.

Giacone's twin sister, Lauren Crutcher of Metairie, will soon get the results of a blood test to determine if she is the one who could help Giacone in her fight for her life.

"We're very, very blessed that she's even able to participate" in the experimental procedure, Crutcher said. "We should know something very close to the beginning of the year." Giacone said if Crutcher is not a match, their brother Charlie Crutcher Jr., will then be tested.

She said she is hoping she can have the procedure in February. Following a seven- to 10-day stay at Baylor Medical Center, Giacone will have to stay in the Houston area for 100 days.

She will visit the hospital several times each week for chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Lauren Crutcher said Giacone has a lot of support from family and friends who will take turns visiting her throughout her stay in Houston, including Giacone's husband, Bryan, and son Joshua, 4, and parents Chris and Charlie Crutcher Sr. of Madisonville.

"We know she's going to have a rough, grueling time," said Crutcher, who didn't seem worried at all about her own donation procedure.

Crutcher said there are several fund-raisers being planned to raise money for Giacone's medical expenses, including a golf tournament at Money Hill Golf & Country Club near Abita Springs. The event is tentatively scheduled Sept. 13, 2004.

The Beth Giacone benefit fund account has been established and donations may be made at any Parish National Bank branch.