May 18, 2005
By Jesse Serwer
Oceanside Herald

Days after his 33rd birthday and three months after the birth of his son, Joseph, Andy Knipe was diagnosed with ALS, the muscle-crippling condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

But, while ALS has gradually eroded his physical faculties, in many ways the disease has made the Rockville Centre-bred advertising executive stronger than he was on that day five years ago.

Though he has lost his ability to speak clearly or move about freely on his own, Knipe, a creative director who has worked on projects for Pepsi, HBO and the New York Islanders, remains on staff at ad agency BBDO, communicating from home via e-mail with the aid of a high tech laser-hologram on his glasses that allows him to type by using head movements.

"Fortunately, I am paid for my mind and luckily that's stronger now than ever," Knipe said via e-mail from his office. Despite his speech impediments and being relegated to a motorized wheelchair, he still commutes to Manhattan from Oceanside with the help of his caregiver and a company-provided driver. "All my advertising concepts are presented through e-mails now. Concept is the strongest part of what I do and I still do pretty well."

For the past several years, Knipe has also joined other ALS sufferers from the local area, and across the nation, in taking part in Rides for Life, a 10-day, 150-mile journey from Manhattan to Montauk to raise awareness and funds for a cure. Every year 6,000 people die from ALS, which is short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and was made famous when Gehrig, the legendary Yankees first baseman, was diagnosed with the disease in 1939.

During the trip, which this year goes from May 13-22, riders travel from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and stay overnight at hotels, making stops at schools and landmarks along the way. While the trip's thrust is
eastward toward Montauk, the group takes a detour to the Bronx, where they visit Yankee Stadium's Monument Park — a highlight for Knipe, a devout Yankees fan. This year, on the ride's second day, participants will unveil a plaque at Lou Gehrig's birthplace in Harlem, and in Nassau County will include a stopover at Knipe's home on Oceanside's Homecrest Road on May 15, a day in which they will also end at Rockville Centre's St. Agnes Cathedral. The ride resumes the next day at Holy Trinity Nursery School, where his 5-year-old, Joseph, is a student, Knipe and his wife, Laura, have two other children—Jessica, 17, and Leo, 1.

"It is grueling," said Ride for Life Director of Events Jennifer Lowy.

"It is a misconception that because it is a motorized wheelchair that it is not exhausting. Just dealing with the elements can be exhausting."

Knipe's sister-in-law, Janet Knipe, said spreading the word to people about the Ride To Life mission is key because not everybody reacts well to the traffic it can create. "It helps to have people be aware of what they are doing because people can get irate when they see a lane of traffic closed off and they don't know why," she said.

For the riders, many of whom, like Knipe, have difficulty eating and drinking and get their nutrition from feeding tubes, making the trip is quite an amazing accomplishment and something they never could have imagined when in good health.

"Back in '92, a great buddy of mine who lives in Montauk suggested I walk along the beach from town to [Montauk Point] and back," Knipe recalled. "He said it would clear my mind from advertising and refresh the spirit. He was right. That was a 12-mile hike and I struggled to do that, healthy. Cut to 2005, and everything's changed except for the terrain. I never imagined I'd be in a wheelchair struggling to make it to the next day [but] I've come along away since my diagnosis."

For information on how to volunteer or make a donation to Ride for Life, visit www.rideforlife.com.