Ride For Life: ALS can't stop hard-working woman

HASLET, Texas — Leigh Carson was typing the minutes for the Haslet 4B Economic Development Committee when a wordy proposal was made.

“Did you get a motion on that, Leigh?” the board’s president, Ruthie Dew, jokingly asked at the meeting last week.

A female voice, sounding like a recorded announcement, said, “Yes.”

Carson uses a DynaVox, a small black device that “speaks” for her after she types in words. Carson, 42, can no longer talk. She learned last year she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Carson has trouble walking. She can’t eat and must rely on a feeding tube. But she still volunteers as secretary for the 4B committee and the Parks and Recreation Board, as she has for the past three years, recording information on a laptop computer with her left hand. She also sells real estate with the help of her husband, Keith.

She does this despite the disease, which attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness and atrophy, according to the ALS Association. Doctors typically expect patients to live about two to five years.

“I’m trying to stay active,” she said recently at her home in a rural area of Haslet, a suburb of Fort Worth. “It does help to have something to do.”

Haslet officials appreciate her work.

“I think it shows a strong will to continue on her part,” Dew said. “She obviously hasn’t given up on keeping things as normal as she possibly can in her life, and we on the 4B board are certainly thrilled to have her on.”

Once able to type 120 words a minute, she can no longer write. She uses her left hand to work the DynaVox.

Losing those simple functions has been difficult.

“Very hard,” she said. “Especially not speaking. This machine is great, but it takes others a lot of patience to wait.”

But Carson has made it a point to do what she can. With her husband or other family members, Carson has traveled to Big Bend National Park, Arizona, South Carolina and Mississippi, and she plans to visit Hawaii this month.

She also continues to sell real estate. Her husband makes the phone calls and accompanies her on appointments. He works two days a week for the Arlington Police Department, taking time off through the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The couple have also gotten support from friends and family, who have cleaned up the flower bed at their house and brought them food.

“I’m still struggling with depression,” she said, “but I have been amazed by ... “

The DynaVox lost power midsentence. As Keith Carson got out an extension cord, he finished her thought: “She’s amazed by how kind and generous people can be.”

Carson teared up again as she began to describe her children, and Keith Carson gave her another hug.

“We got 24 years,” he told her. “We didn’t miss anything.”

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