ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — It is a disease that robs people of their ability to walk, talk, swallow and eventually breathe.
ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's Disease most commonly afflicts people between the ages of 40 and 70.
As many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time.
This Saturday, Buffalo will be hosting the Western New York Will Walk to Defeat ALS, at Delaware Park.
This year's Buffalo walk ambassador is Bill Staebell.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun spoke with him earlier today about his journey with the disease after being diagnosed in December of 2022.
On any given day, 69-year-old, biggest obstacle is trying to salvage any tomatoes left after deer have gone through his yard.
The Orchard Park resident loves to garden.
It is something that keeps his mind off of his daily obstacle: having ALS.
Staebell said, "I had symptoms without realizing it probably two or three years in front of that, where my hand would shake."
The former teacher and a Southtowns Youth Orchestra conductor was diagnosed with ALS in December 2022, but his speech began to change months before then.
Staebell said, "My kids were like, 'Dad you're drinking too much.' And I said, no. 'That's not it.' So, I went from there to my neurologists and doctors and through many tests. So, I am not drunk. I just have ALS."
Upon diagnosis, he did not know much about the disease but has now become an ambassador for this year's Buffalo Walk to Defeat ALS.
After being diagnosed he strives to move forward with a positive attitude.
Staebell said, "I have overcome the fear, so that has been good."
"It's really terrible that we're put in a place of such a grueling experience for two and a half years," Indu Navar told Kassahun via Zoom.
CEO and founder of EverythingALS, Indu Navar, said EverythingALS is conducting speech research using AI technology to spot and track early signs of ALS.
It is a mission the San Francisco resident began after her husband, Peter Cohen, died of ALS in 2019.
"Have you lost your function, have you lost your speech, have you lost your walking. This is a 70-year-old method. Today, when we have technology, when we have sensors, we can predict a lot of the things," Navar said.
EverythingALS is a citizen-led research she hopes will bring about faster diagnosis, better treatments and a cure.
In the meantime, Staebell said he will soak up the support from his family, friends and former students through his journey.
Staebell said, "I went through hundreds of thousands of students and many of them are still in my ballpark encouraging and supporting me."
His team has raised more than $12,000 for this year's ALS walk.
