I was diagnosed with ALS in 2021, I have surpassed the typical three-year life expectancy, however each passing month gets harder and harder. I've lost all of my upper body strength, I am 100% reliant on others to help me with the most basic tasks, such as eating, getting dressed and now getting up from a chair. I can still walk, however my core is weakening as well as my legs. Unfortunately with ALS, you are automatically thinking, what's coming next? This disease is a living grieving process, as you lose function, you grieve that function. This disease is difficult on me physically, 

This spring, we will be participating in the 5Km ALS Canada Walk to End ALS.  The ALS community needs our support to provide help to families affected by ALS. That’s why we're joining thousands of others, a part of a passionate and motivated community to “walk” in celebration of hope and a world free of ALS. Please consider supporting our team and donating towards this important cause.  This will be my fourth walk, which is going to be much more difficult than the previous walks and most likely I will have to finish it with a wheelchair. That is my new reality. My challenge this year is to get more people involved, and raise more awareness through my professional connections on LinkedIn.

A friend of mine in the Netherlands told me a story recently regarding the promotion and awareness of ALS in a small country. The Netherlands has roughly 17 million people, Canada we have about 40 million people, what I found interesting was in 2023 the Netherlands raised €17 million (28M CAD) in Canada raised C$8.5 million.  In 2014, the ice bucket challenge raised just over 17 million in Canada, something I think we can do through our LinkedIn networks, as we can pass this message to all of our contacts and to their contacts and so on. All I ask is, please donate and please pass this along in your professional network and follow the link to my page. As I've done for the last 3 years I will be walking virtually, in Georgia Bluffs Ontario with my family and friends. Although I spent a significant part of my life in the Halton region, all the money raised will add to the total for Halton.

https://alscanadawalktoendals.als.ca/ontario2025/doug-reid-walk-to-end-als