Copyright 2004 Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
May 15, 2004, Saturday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 614 words
BYLINE: By SETH MULLER, Arizona Daily Sun
DATELINE: FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.

Steve Harrison faces endless challenges each day as Lou Gehrig's disease robs him of strength and control of his body.

He can barely feed himself and he can no longer walk. He cannot open a letter. He knows that soon he will lose his ability to speak.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody," said the 45-year-old Harrison, a Flagstaff resident who was diagnosed in August 2001. "It's hard ... I watch other people walking around, and they can get in and out of their trucks and cars."

With no other family in town, Harrison relies heavily on help from his wife, Cathleen, and his two daughters, Amber and Christine.

But faculty and students with the College of Health Professions at Northern Arizona University plan to provide Harrison - and others with Lou Gehrig's disease - the extra support he needs.

The College of Health Professions recently teamed with the state's ALS Association out of Scottsdale to send a registered nurse to homes of people with Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. May is the observance of ALS Awareness Month.

It is a disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. When these cells die, voluntary muscle control and movement is lost. Patients in the final stages of the disease are totally paralyzed, while their minds remain alert.

The average life expectancy from diagnosis is two to five years. It has no identified cause or cure.

The nurse with the program, Beth Mohan, is assessing the needs of ALS patients throughout northern Arizona as NAU plans to create a comprehensive support program in the fall. It will include medical visits via a video and audio hookup to Dr. Todd Levine, who works with ALS patients at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. It will also make certain kinds of equipment available for the patients and will include speech and auditory therapy.

It's funded through money provided by the ALS Association, with some services billed through insurance or with sliding-scale fees.

"One of the things we've learned with ALS is that patients have trouble traveling great distances," said Sandy Ryan, who is with the College of Health Professions. "Setting up this clinic will keep them from having to travel to places like Phoenix for care."

The clinic and its work with ALS patients will provide a learning opportunity for students, who will assist with the program.

The availability of medical supplies and equipment will provide a key service for Lou Gehrig's patients. Wheelchairs, special utensils for eating and specialized communications devices will be purchased and lent out to people as they need them.

Because Lou Gehrig's is degenerative, the patient has different needs through the course of the illness. So the equipment offering helps patients save on mounting costs. Often, Medicare and other medical benefits only buy one item.

Harrison purchased a $29,000 high-end model wheelchair - one that can be controlled with head motion and reclines back - before he really needed all of the functions of the 315-pound device.

Marjorie Sinton said she and her husband, Bill, could have made good use of the clinic. Bill Sinton, who died from Lou Gehrig's disease in March, suffered from the illness for more than 10 years.

"When you're back home from the doctor, you feel you're not left with anything," Sinton said. "So I think (the clinic) is great. The more support you get, the better."

Mohan said she's currently working with seven different ALS patients in northern Arizona.

"But we're sure there are more patients out there," Mohan said. "We know there is a tremendous amount of outreach that has to take place."