In memory of Booker McDowell
someone we've lost to ALS
South Carolina
**Booker McDowell passed away on December 5, 2021. Below is his story in his own words.**
My name is Booker McDowell. I am 42-years-old and am living with ALS. My symptoms began in 2016, and I was diagnosed in 2018. My entire life has changed since then.
I was young and able-bodied, with a great career. As anyone familiar with ALS knows, it is a terrible disease that seizes control of your body. Over the years, my family and I have learned to adapt, and then adapt again, over and over. There have been many days that I wanted to give up, but the love for my wife and my daughter keeps me going.
ALS can deprive you of many things. But, despite all of its challenges, I still have the ability to love and to be loved. It can never take that away from me. The key to surviving is to focus on what you have and not what you have lost. There won’t be a cure for ALS during my lifetime, but I pray that effective treatments become available for others someday.
