Giving back...

This blog is about giving back to a cause I believe in.

For those of you who do not know, I am very involved with the ALS Society of BC and the ALS Society of Canada. Do you know what ALS is? If you do, you understand the seriousness of a diagnosis, the upset of how your life has changed because someone close to you has been diagnosed with ALS.

What is ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease?
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive, neuromuscular disease. It attacks the motor neurons that transmit electrical impulses from the brain to the voluntary muscles in the body. When these muscles fail to receive messages, they lose strength, atrophy and die.

ALS can hit anyone at any, time regardless of age, gender, or ethnic origin.

ALS does not affect the senses; only rarely does it affect the mind.
In 90% of cases, it strikes people with no family history of the disease.
Equipment costs for each patient average $137,000; nursing and home care costs can be up to 10 times this amount.

My Mom was diagnosed with ALS in 1998. She died in 1999. I was in my last year of University, 3 hrs away from home. I would come home every month to see a dramatic change in her. My Mom needed a feeding tube, she was unable to walk, talk, care for herself. The only thing she was able to do was smile with her eyes. She died suddenly in March 1999.
This is the reason I am involved with the Walk for ALS. We create awareness,raise funds for patient services and research.

This is also the reason I have chosen a career at Sunlife Financial. I help people plan for the life they always dream of. I also help people have plans in place to protect themselves and the ones they care about against the negative effects of ill health and death. No one expects to get ill, injured, become unable to work or die too young. Reality is, it happens! It is a terrible situation, however if you have one last thing to worry about (your finances) I am sure you/your family would be thankful you were thinking ahead.

We all have stories about things that affect us and what drives our actions. Now you know a little bit of my story.

Be well! Enjoy life

Karen:)

karen.divenanzo@sunlife.com
604-603-8571