Area men lobby in D.C. for ALS funding, programs
CHUCK DYSART BEGAN building a dream 33 years ago. But now that it’s completed, a debilitating and deadly disease is keeping him from enjoying the ride. The Deer Park resident recently received word from the Federal Aviation Administration that an airplane he started building when his children were young was approved for flight. But Dysart, 72, was diagnosed a year ago with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The degenerative disease, which is caused by the destruction of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, has robbed him of feeling in one of his legs. Dysart won’t be able to fly his plane and it’s too small for both a pilot and a passenger.
“It’s a little cramped, but just seeing it finished and seeing it fly is a big reward,” he said.
Dysart is focused on a new project now. He and Colbert resident Dan Bourson joined eight other Washington residents in the nation’s capital earlier this month to lobby for funding and programs to fight ALS. The men met with the state’s senators and representatives or their aides and asked them to support three goals.
They’re hoping to maintain the level of funding previously allocated to the U.S. Department of Defense for ALS research; they want to create a national registry of people with ALS; and they supported a proposed program that would provide respite care to people with ALS and other diseases, regardless of the patients’ ages.
Often family members care for ALS patients full-time, Bourson said.
“Sometimes they just need a break for a few hours,” he said. “A lot of respite care programs are out there right now, but virtually every one is for caring for people who are 55 years and older.”
On average, ALS is diagnosed at age 55. Patients usually have a life expectancy of two to five years after learning they have the disease, according to the ALS Association.
Currently, there is no national registry to track ALS. After patients succumb to the disease, doctors often record their causes of death as respiratory failure, Dysart said, because ALS causes the muscles in the chest and diaphragm to fail.
“There’s not an accurate count of how many people are affected” by ALS, he said.
Dysart and Bourson said they felt their concerns were taken seriously in Washington.
“They were wanting information and listening to us,” Dysart said of the lawmakers. “There’s not a lot of money back there right now for research for any of these medical problems, but we need to hang onto all the research resources we can.”
Dysart added that it’s important to spread the word about ALS because the short life expectancy of those who have it hampers their ability to advocate for a cure.
One way Washington state’s Evergreen Chapter of the ALS Association plans to increase its presence in Spokane is by holding a fund-raising walk at Mirabeau Point Park on Oct. 8.
For more information on the walk or on the disease itself, contact the Spokane branch of the Evergreen Chapter at 536-6585 or www.alsa-ec.org.
Habla espanol? DSHS wants you
The Department of Social and Health Services is recruiting people who speak foreign languages to become certified interpreters for the agency and its providers.
DSHS pays for interpretation services when it works with clients who have difficulty speaking English. The interpreters must pass a proficiency test to be certified.
“This is a good opportunity for a student looking for extra money or for a young adult who grew up in a home where English was a second language,” said Doug Porter, assistant secretary of the DSHS Medical Assistance Administration, in a release.
There’s demand for people who speak Spanish, Russian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Somali and Laotian, as well as for those who speak less common languages such as Bengali and Urdu.
An information meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, 711 S. Cowley.
Drug interaction education
Oil and water. Peanut butter and pickles. Stripes and polka dots.
Some things don’t mix.
That can include certain combinations of prescription drugs. The Department of Social and Health Services is encouraging older citizens to learn more about the interaction of their medicines through what’s called the Senior Prescription Drug Education Program.
Agencies on Aging throughout Washington State are offering different ways to educate seniors.
In Spokane, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Whitman counties, a volunteer is available to come to groups with a presentation on the topic. The volunteer can’t evaluate attendees’ specific medications but can help them be better-educated consumers when they visit pharmacies.
To bring the presentation to your group, call Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington at 458-2509.
Lead testing for Hillyard kids
Children who live or play near an old Hillyard rail yard are encouraged to get a free blood test June 10 to determine if they’ve been exposed to lead.
The Spokane Regional Health District, using funds from the Washington state Department of Health, will administer the tests.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. bought the property from Great Northern Railroad Co. in the 1970s. The soil there is contaminated with lead and has spread over 140,000 square feet.The site is considered Spokane County’s most dangerous health hazard to children, who can develop mental retardation, impaired motor skills and other problems when exposed to lead.
The district wants to test children who live or play in the area bordered by Euclid and Frederick avenues to the south, Francis Avenue to the north, Havana Street to the east and Market Street to the west.
To make an appointment for the blood testing, which will be held at the Northeast Community Center, call 323-2828.