Article published Sep 24, 2005
Michael Krieg
Copyright ©2005 The Daily Advertiser

CARENCRO, LOUISIANA - Brady Guidry turned himself into a fluid skater for a kid born deep in the heart of "Cajun Country."

The Breaux Bridge native developed a passion for hockey when the Louisiana IceGators came to town in 1995. Not long after, the Louisiana HockeyPlex was built and if anyone needed to find Guidry, the first place to look was the HockeyPlex.

Guidry quickly became a fixture there. He was skating, teaching youngsters to skate and playing pickup games in recreation leagues. He even began working at the HockeyPlex. The facility became Guidry's home away from home.

But Guidry, 23, spends less time at the HockeyPlex these days, though he still comes by every once in a while to visit the friends he's made.

About two years ago, Guidry was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). The disease has progressed to the point where Guidry's once fluid skating legs are now wrapped with braces to help keep him from falling down.

There is no cure for the disease and Guidry's ALS has progressed to another stage. The disease will keep progressing until it ultimately claims Guidry's life.

"Well, everything just got harder to do," Guidry said. "When I got to the point where I started falling a lot, then it kind of started to sink in that maybe it was time for me to get something to help me move around.

I got the leg braces first and then my grandparents got me this walker with wheels on it.

"That was good for a little while, but then a couple of weeks ago I was just too scared to walk out of the house with it (walker), because I was afraid my knee would give out. It's kind of scary to think about it. If you think about it long term, you start freaking out. We're getting prepared right now for me to be able to keep my independence. To me, that's the most important thing - to keep my independence."

One friend Guidry made is Terry Kaufman, a former Minnesota high school hockey player who knows a thing or two about skating. Kaufman now coaches youth teams in Lafayette and remembers meeting Guidry nearly five years ago.

"At the time he was learning to skate himself and showing a lot of promise," Kaufman said. "Brady just had an interest in it. Jeff Binzmiller had adult classes and Brady was going out there doing that. He'd stay out there after on his own and work with the kids.

"He started teaching adult classes with Jeff and then he started playing pick up. It was actually kind of funny because when he first started playing, he bought his skates way too big for himself. It looked like boats out there. You could see the kid had a lot of promise as a skater. He was very fluid, but these huge skates on him made such a difference in his skating.

"We talked him into getting some new ones and it made a big difference in his skating. He just started playing pick up and was out there all the time. He was a good skater."
The diagnosis

To most people in the prime of their lives, learning they've been diagnosed with a deadly disease would be devastating. It would likely come as a shocking surprise, but that wasn't the case for Guidry.

Guidry learned at a young age that his mother, Amanda, was diagnosed with the disease. Amanda Guidry passed away at age 30.

"I really wasn't all that shocked to be honest, because my mother had it," Guidry said. "It was kind of in the back of my mind that I could possibly have it when I started feeling weak. That was my first guess, but I was kind of in denial.

"You really don't want to think that you have something like that, so we just went to check it out. We went to a neurologist in Opelousas and he poked me and electrocuted me and he diagnosed it."

It's not uncommon for ALS to strike multiple family members. About 10 percent of ALS cases are linked to genetic causes, with more than one case in the family, according to Linda Richardson, president of the board of the ALS Association Greater Houston Chapter. In the other 90 percent of cases, genetic factors are thought to play a role but are not always a direct cause.

"I kind of wanted to know whether I got it from my mother or not," he said.

However, Guidry said the statistics weren't as important to him because the outcome remained the same.

An Inspiration

Despite his diagnosis, Guidry didn't give up on the things he loved doing. He continued to skate and play until his body would no longer let him.

"The kid just didn't know how to quit," Kaufman said. "He'd stay out there and skate and he was still playing adult pick up out here maybe not more than a year ago. He was an inspiration.

"Everybody out here knows him and we've watched his health deteriorate. He's been such an inspiration to the adult players, because they recognize what's going on. He doesn't shy away from anything."

Current Cajun Catahoula, Garrett Schexnayder remembers those days, too. Guidry spent countless hours on the ice working with Schexnayder.

"He'd come out no matter what and skate," Schexnayder said. "If he fell down you'd want to help him up, but he was like, 'No, no get away. I'm going to try and do it myself.'

"You always looked up to him for that. He was out here trying to help everybody else. It's hard because he's real close to me, but it's also like a big inspiration to you because you see him go out here even though he knows what he has and he tries his hardest. Even though I don't have this, I need to go out as fast as I can and try to do the best I can just like he does. He's the greatest guy I could ever meet. His spirits are always high, no matter what."

But eventually Guidry had to give hockey up. It was hard on him, but tough on his friends, too.

Longtime friend Eric Shaw helped encourage Guidry to begin playing in recreation leagues and the two maintain a strong friendship today.

"It's pretty hard to see me continuing to play hockey and he can't do what he loves anymore," Shaw said. "It hurts me. I watched him go through it. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Shaw said he is constantly bombarded with questions and concerns about Guidry.

"He's a wonderful person," he said. "He's left an impression on everybody he's ever met."

It's those friends who helped Guidry fulfill a dream last year - attend an NHL game. Guidry and a bunch of friends made the trip to Atlanta to see his favorite team the New York Rangers face off against the Thrashers.

Kaufman has a dream himself. To see Guidry back on the ice.

"I'd sure love to see him get back on the skates, even if it's on the sled," he said. "I know they have the sled hockey at some places, but I'm not sure if that's really possible for him to do."
The Prognosis

Unfortunately, for the estimated 30,000 Americans living with ALS the prognosis isn't good. There are no known causes of the disease and no known cures. The average life expectancy of a person diagnosed with ALS is two to five years.

Despite what the statistics say, Guidry remains positive.

"Whenever this happens I think the first thing people want to say is, 'Why me?' " Guidry said. "But there's so many people at the clinic in Houston that are so much worse than I am right now. I'm just like it's really not a big deal. I don't really like to complain. That really doesn't help me out when I do that. I just kind of take it a day at a time and try not to fall down."

Guidry visits a Neurological Multidisciplinary Clinic in Houston every three months. A variety of different physicians check things, such as Guidry's strength, breathing, speech and diet.

The treatment at such clinics can help extend a patient's life expectancy, according to Richardson.

"There is no cure, but there is a lot of treatments that can help people become stronger so their deterioration isn't so rapid," Richardson said. "Statistically, normally when the diagnosis is made the projected life expectancy is two to five years, but there are people who live five to 10 years and some live longer than that. Stephen Hawking, the physicist, had ALS for more than 40 years. It's not common, but it does happen and we certainly offer as much hope as possible."

Guidry is receiving the best treatment possible and tries to stay on top of the latest discoveries.

"We just try to stay on top of things like stem cells, that's the best thing," Guidry said. "We keep hoping that something is going to come up with that. They (doctors) have a whole bunch of studies they're doing right now with all kinds of stuff that you wouldn't even think you could be treated for.

"They're really going after finding a cure, but you just have to keep hoping that it can happen."