Hello, friends! Thank you for visiting my fundraising page as I raise funds to help end ALS! Whatever it is that brought you here, I'm grateful, and I'd love to tell you my story, in case you haven't yet heard it yet.

I lost my dad, Steve Stern, to ALS in July 2015, just 12 days after my youngest son was born. My dad had been diagnosed with the disease in 2011 after experiencing weakness in his neck. I'm the oldest of four children and I was 24 when he was diagnosed, and my youngest brother was only 11 years old. Once Dad was diagnosed, he quickly retired so he could spend his remaining days with his family and friends. We threw big birthday parties, went on big vacations, and wracked up as many memories as we could. But all the while, he was losing functionality in his body until it was not possible for him to leave the house anymore.

During his illness, our friends and family surrounded us and cared for us in ways we couldn't believe. Some paid for in-home care to let my mom recover and have support, some showed up and put Christmas lights on our house so we wouldn't feel the sting of loss quite so much during the holiday season, and lots of folks brought food - so, so much food. Some of our family members upended their own lives and literally moved in for weeks at a time to be close and be helpful. 

I say all this to help paint a picture of what it's like to be on the inside of this disease that has no cure. Because no one survives this illness (yet), it's up to those of us who lived through it to be the champions of the cause. While this comes at great personal cost to us as it's hard to be faced with this disease again, I have to believe that it's worth it and it will result in research progressing to ultimately find a cure to this disease.

So I'm thrilled to be leading a team for the 2024 Walk ALS Portland. I would be honored if you'd join me in raising funds, spreading awareness, walking through beautiful downtown Portland on June 2, and celebrating life with those who are actively living with and fighting ALS. Thank you!