I walk for my dad, Rudy Sawatzky 
Before dad was diagnosed with ALS I don’t think I had ever heard about it. But since that day it feels like every time I turn around I hear something, friends whose relatives have been diagnosed or already lost to it or about the research being done. It’s amazing how much more aware you become of something after you have been affected by it. 

The ALS ice bucket challenge did a lot to raise awareness but until it has affected you or someone you know, there is just no way to really grasp the full scope of it. Unfortunately I have seen it, I have lost someone I loved dearly, and I will never forget them or the trials involved in supporting them when they needed us the most. 

Dad I love you, I think about you every day and hope you are watching, hope you can be proud of the things we do to keep your memory alive and celebrate the times we had together. 

I will once again walk in your memory in hopes of one day ending this disease, so that maybe we can eliminate one more disaster that creates so much suffering and leaves behind so many broken hearts. 

We will never forget

All funds collected by the ALS Society goes into research and helping individuals and families affected by this disease.

They helped us to keep dad comfortable at home until the end. They helped us with equipment so dad could still feel connected and communicate through the years without speech, even when his hands and legs no longer worked.

But they can’t do any of this without the funds and continued support from us the people.

Please help us to raise funds in support of this great cause.

Your support will help to:

• create a better day-to-day reality for people and families living with ALS by providing community-based support throughout Manitoba - like home visits and support groups – as well as necessary medical equipment like wheelchairs, liftchairs, mobility aids and other items that increase safety in the home, at no cost to those who need them.
• further scientific progress by investing in the ALS Canada Research Program, which funds promising ALS research. This program provides peer-reviewed grants to researchers whose work has the greatest potential to advance the field of ALS. There’s been more progress made in ALS research in the last five years than over the last century – we need to keep building on this momentum.

Join us in making a difference. Please consider donating to this fundraising page as we work towards a world free of ALS/MND.

Your support is needed now more than ever - we are stronger together!