2008 Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award -

About the Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award

• a bronze medallion bearing the likeness of Thérèse Casgrain;
• a lapel pin and a certificate of recognition; and
• $5,000 to be awarded to a registered Canadian charity designated by the recipient.

Toronto, ON — April 2, 2008: When a parent is diagnosed with ALS everything changes not only for him or her, but also for the family. It can be hard for a parent to discuss this fatal disease with their children in a manner that they can understand. In turn, those children may experience thoughts and feelings that they are unable to comprehend and deal with. Jane McCarthy, director of services and education at the ALS Society of Canada, has created an award-winning series of informational booklets as part of the als411 program.

“Living with a parent with ALS, a child can feel there is nowhere to turn because the other parent is too busy being the caregiver, and s/he may be too uncomfortable to talk to their friends at school because they perceive that they will not understand. This leaves the child alone to cope with feelings s/he may not know how to manage. These information booklets will help provide children and their parents with tools to help process the news of the ALS diagnosis and cope with the changes along the way,” explains McCarthy

The goal of the als411 program is to target children and teens whose parents are battling ALS, to help answer any questions or concerns they may have about their loved one’s condition as well as to help both them and their parents learn to cope with the feelings associated with this devastating illness. The informational series is comprised of three booklets targeting parents, teens and children. Each one is tailored to address their individual concerns to provide them with coping mechanisms and suggestions on how to approach their upcoming challenges.

The booklet for teens entitled, “When Your Parent Has ALS,” was developed with the input of eight teenagers who have gone through the painful experience of losing a parent to ALS and shares their experiences and feelings in hopes that other teens can take comfort in knowing that they are not alone, and the feelings they may be having are normal. All the booklets are available in print as well as an online version available on the als411 web site (http://www.als.ca/als411/), in both English and French. Stayed tuned for the new and improved als411 web site coming this summer, which is being re-launched as two sites, one for children and one for teens. Both sites will be bilingual as well as incorporate more interactive features.

Two of the booklets received Mercury Excellence awards. The booklet for teens received the silver award in the category of Special Purposes Brochures, and the booklet for children entitled, “When Someone Special Has ALS,” was awarded bronze for Brochure Design. The Mercury Excellence Awards are sponsored by MerComm’s award program, which recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of communications in an international arena.

ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the most common type of neuromuscular disease that attacks and paralyzes the muscles, ultimately resulting in death. ALS does not discriminate and can affect men and women of any ethnic origin at any age. Approximately 2,500 - 3,000 Canadians are battling this disease. Eighty per cent of those affected will die within two to five years of diagnosis.

Founded in 1977, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Society of Canada is the only national voluntary organization dedicated to the fight against ALS and support for those with ALS. The mission of the ALS Society of Canada is to fund research towards a cure for ALS and support provincial Societies to provide quality care for those affected by ALS.

The WFN Research Group facilitates collaboration across borders defined by both geography and discipline. The ALS Journal is the only dedicated publication for this rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease, and subscription  is available as a benefit to members of the WFN Research Group on ALS/MND.

"Working together as a community of clinicians, scientists and care providers, we must continue to strive to make a difference in the lives of people with ALS.   As the incoming editor I, with the new editorial board, will do my best to attract and publish research that will help to make that difference a reality" said  Orla Hardiman, incoming editor.

To find out more about the ALS Journal, and to become a subscriber, click on http://www.informaworld.com/als.

To find out more about the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on ALS/MND, click on http://www.wfnals.org/

Dr. Stanley H. Appel, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at The Methodist Hospital and one of the nation's foremost experts on Lou Gehrig's disease, will receive the 2008 John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award on Jan. 25.  This national award, given by the Houston Academy of Medicine, recognizes a physician who embodies exemplary service to humanity and whose career reflects medical excellence, humane and ethical care, and commitment to the medical humanities.

Appel, co-founder and co-director of the Methodist Neurological Institute (NI), Medical Director of the MDA/ALS Research and Clinical Center at the Methodist NI, and Professor of Neurology with Weill Cornell Medical College, has spent more than 40 years devoted to understanding the human brain.  Internationally renowned as a researcher and neurologist, Appel is dedicated to the treatment of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and committed to neurological research in other neurodegenerative diseases as well.  Over the course of his career, he has treated more than 3,000 ALS patients, more than any other physician in the U.S.  In 1982, Appel created what is now the Methodist Neurological Institute's MDA/ALS Research and Clinical Center in Houston, the first multi-disciplinary clinic in the U.S. dedicated to care and research for ALS patients.  Methodist's Clinic is the standard by which all other MDA/ALS clinics are modeled.  Appel holds the Peggy and Gary Edwards Distinguished Endowed Chair for the Treatment and Research of ALS.

"Dr. Appel is an amazing clinician and researcher and an exemplary model of compassionate care and dedication to humankind.  We congratulate him on such a well-deserved honor," said Ron Girotto, President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital System.

For decades, Appel's research has focused on developing new insights into degenerative neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and, primarily, ALS.  His greatest legacy, though, may be the more than 200 neurologists he has trained, many of whom have gone on to chair their own departments across the nation and in Europe and in Asia.

The John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award, established in 1993, is presented annually by the Houston Academy of Medicine to recognize a multi-accomplished physician who has enriched the field of medicine by being a compassionate clinician and devoted teacher, who has a strong familiarity with research, and has demonstrated a commitment to and love of the profession of medicine.  The award is named after its first recipient, Dr. John P. McGovern, who founded the American Osler Society.

Appel will receive the award during the Annual Installation of Officers banquet of the Houston Academy of Medicine and the Harris County Medical Society.  He will join the ranks of past Compleat Physician Award recipients, including famed Houston heart surgeons Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and Dr. Denton A. Cooley, as well as other nationally-renowned physicians, such as Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, pediatric infectious disease specialist and Chief of Pediatrics at Texas Children's Hospital, Dr. Victor McKusick, University Professor of Medical Genetics at The Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. W. Walter Menninger, a distinguished psychiatrist and past President and CEO of The Menninger Foundation.