My Dad, Rich Sommers was diagnosed with ALS Feb 2021. He fought a hard fight until he found peace on Aug. 18, 2022. My Dad was fit, healthy, fun, hardworking, and loved his family more than anything. He found joy in the simple things and always found a way to make life fun. He felt he lived a full life even though it was cut short. He did everything 110% and was always the center of attention in any room. He was kind to everyone he met and respected by all who knew him. He was the life of the party and the center of our world.
ALS has no cure and the one foundation that made the biggest difference in his quality of life was Team Gleason. Team Gleason provided voice banking for my Dad so that he could use an eye gaze machine given to him by the funds raised with Team Gleason. This was his only way of communicating with us. This was the only way he could tell us what he needed or anything he had to say and he had to type out each word letter by letter with his eyes.
This type of machine and service is not covered by insurance, in fact most things needed by anyone with ALS are NOT covered by insurance. Team Gleason gives everything they can to support people with ALS. They help transfer people and their equipment places so they can be with their loved ones or attend an event. Without them these things would not be possible.
The one thing about this organization is they treat everyone they serve like nothing has changed. When we would call them on speaker phone for my Dad, knowing he couldn't talk, they still would speak to him as if they were old friends. They keep humanity and kindness at the center of each conversation. They do everything they can to support anyone living with ALS and their families.
All of this is possible with donations only. That is the only way these things can happen. Every single dollar counts and will dramatically change someones quality of life and their families that care for them.
On my Dad's last day he used his eye-gaze system to write a letter to to advocate for others who run into issues of getting certain equipment that are necessary for quality of life. That is the kind of person my dad was and will always be. He gave back, and I will continue to give back and honor that through donation rides such as this.
