Never take the ability to control body and limb movement for granted, because everything can change in the blink of an eye. The only people that know this have suffered from a debilitating disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is a very deadly disease that may be currently affecting 30,000 Americans by damaging motor control in the body. Lou Gehrig was an American legend. Very few baseball players were as good as he was, and even fewer were as humble. He believed in working hard and never giving up; because of his morals, he was a baseball great and the country adored him (“Lou Gehrig: Biography”).
Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903, in New York City. A descendant of German immigrants, Lou was the lone survivor of four children. Christina, his mother, worked as a cook and a maid to pay the bills; the pressure was mostly on her because Lou’s father, Heinrich, had very poor health. This resulted in the family barely making it by, but Christina was determined to make a future for her survivor (“Lou Gehrig: Biography”).
Due to his mother’s wish, Christina, of an excellent education, Lou worked hard to be accepted into a good school. In 1921, Gehrig attended Columbia on a football scholarship, pursuing an engineering degree. Before classes even started, New York Giants manager John McGraw asked Lou to play professional summer …show more content…
Ninety to ninety-five percent of people diagnosed have sporadic ALS, which is the most common form. A person could have no history of health issues, and could still get sporadic ALS. The leftover five to ten percent of cases is Familial, which is inherited by family members. For those who have Familial, a fifty percent chance of passing it to offspring is at risk. Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist, discovered this disease in 1869 (“What is ALS?”). In the 1950’s, cases of ALS skyrocketed in Guam, for unknown reasons (“Forms of
Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903, in New York City. A descendant of German immigrants, Lou was the lone survivor of four children. Christina, his mother, worked as a cook and a maid to pay the bills; the pressure was mostly on her because Lou’s father, Heinrich, had very poor health. This resulted in the family barely making it by, but Christina was determined to make a future for her survivor (“Lou Gehrig: Biography”).
Due to his mother’s wish, Christina, of an excellent education, Lou worked hard to be accepted into a good school. In 1921, Gehrig attended Columbia on a football scholarship, pursuing an engineering degree. Before classes even started, New York Giants manager John McGraw asked Lou to play professional summer …show more content…
Ninety to ninety-five percent of people diagnosed have sporadic ALS, which is the most common form. A person could have no history of health issues, and could still get sporadic ALS. The leftover five to ten percent of cases is Familial, which is inherited by family members. For those who have Familial, a fifty percent chance of passing it to offspring is at risk. Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist, discovered this disease in 1869 (“What is ALS?”). In the 1950’s, cases of ALS skyrocketed in Guam, for unknown reasons (“Forms of