Mary Burns Sanfilippo is a beautful, loving, selfless, brave and wonderful person whose life changed drastically on July 14, 2006. On this day, Mary, her family, and friends all discovered
she was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
ALS is a fatal and debilitating illnes. Although there is no
known cause or cure at this time we do know that it attacks the brain cells that control voluntary muscle movement.
In time, this devastating disease will rob Mary of her abilities to walk, talk, and move. We also know that people
suffering from ALS eventually completely become paralyzed. One of the hardest parts of the disease is that, through
it all, patients minds remain fully intact.
Mary is only 46 years old, yet she has so much
to be proud of. As the oldest daughter of eight children, Mary began her life supporting her parents and guiding her
siblings. For more than twenty years, she continued the path of helping others through a successful nursing career.
Mary also
raised two amazing kids instilling strong values and encouraging them to always chase their dreams. Since being diagnosed
with this terminal illness, Mary has taken the rare path of being optimistic and motivates her friends and family every
day through this positive outlook.
Mary currently uses a BI-PAP
machine at night, a cough assist machine during the day- to keep her lungs clear, and is learning how to talk with her new
communication device.
To give back to Mary and help her through her fight with ALS, the Friends
of Mary Burns Sanfilippo hosted the:
Strike Out ALS Benefit for Mary
February
24, 2007
And what
a great success it was! Click on the link below to read all about the event and it's results!
