I am Bruce Davis

In 2004, my late brother, Bill Davis, lost his battle with ALS. He was 64 years old. In 2000, he retired after 36 years in law enforcement. He then volunteered with the local first aid squad. On Christmas Day, I’m not sure of the year, maybe 2001, we noticed he was having trouble walking, he then told us that he had been diagnosed with ALS. None of us knew anything about the disease. But we would soon find out how bad it really is.

Shortly thereafter, he started going to an ALS center. Since he was single, myself and one of my brothers and my sister in law would take him when he could no longer drive himself for his appointments. The disease progressed very quickly; my brother went from a cane, to a walker, and finally a wheelchair. He had to have a feeding tube inserted, his speech was affected, which made it difficult to understand what he was saying.

Shortly before he passed away, our family, along with Bill, participated in the ALS Walk at Liberty Sate Park, in N.J. by the Statue of Liberty. My brother faced this disease with courage and humility. It is a devastating disease, for the person, and family/caregivers. However, after seeing the segment on CBS Sunday Morning, there is hope on the horizon.