Family pays tribute to a ‘walk through hell’
GERARD THOM ENDURED BATTLE WITH ALS
When a doctor tells you he wishes you had cancer, you know things are going to get bad.
Gerard Thom was diagnosed with ALS in 2015 and died this past June.
His son, Adam, described the nearly two years Gerard and his family suffered as a “walk through Hell.”
Adam said they knew it was bad when the doctor broke the news.
“He said to my dad, ‘Gerard, I wish I could tell you that you have cancer today, but you have probably the worst thing anyone can go through,’” Adam said.
On Saturday, Gerard’s family, with the help of the ALS Society of Alberta, held a barbecue fundraiser at Mint Smartwash. The Gerard Thom ALS Fundraiser 2017 is the result of a promise Gerard’s family made to him before he died: that they would never give up fighting the disease that was stealing him away a piece at a time.
“The disease doesn’t have any treatments,” Adam said. “It doesn’t have any cure. Basically when you are diagnosed, they tell you how long you have, and how you can make it somewhat manageable.”
Adam said his family suffered incredibly along with his father, as he slowly lost control of his body.
It was particularly hard on them when Gerard lost the ability to speak.
“You miss having those conversations with your dad,” he said. “It’s horrific to watch someone go through it. There’s nothing you can do. You can just help as best you can to make it manageable.”
For almost two years, they watched as the disease took Gerard. In the end, his death, while heartbreaking, was also a relief. It meant his suffering had finally come to an end.
“To see him at peace, finally, puts you at ease,” Adam said. “You don’t have to watch him suffer anymore.”
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nerves of the body, resulting in weakness and wasting.
Eventually, people with ALS become trapped in their bodies, completely immobilized, and unable to speak, swallow or breathe.
The sensory neurons of people who have ALS continue to function normally. Their minds remain completely clear and lucid. The result is often a lively, unimpaired mind trapped in an immobilized body.
“We saw it with my dad,” Adam said. “It started in his feet and went all the way up. He got his speech, so he couldn’t speak, and he couldn’t eat.”
“You don’t wish it upon your worst enemy. It’s such an awful thing to go through.”
Adam hopes the event will make people more aware of the immeasurable suffering that comes with an ALS diagnosis.
“There’s so little funding, and so little awareness, that a lot of people don’t know what it is,” he said. “There’s very little government support, too.
The ALS Society of Alberta website states there are about 3,000 Canadians living with ALS, and two or three die every day. There is no known cause or cure for the disease.
For more information, please visit the ALS Society of Alberta at alsab.ca.