Dying of ALS disease

Mar 17, 2015 at 08:42 am by bryan


Former Tennessee Titan Tim Shaw who is living with ALS, will speak in Nashville on Thursday to discuss a resolution to the Tennessee General Assembly to declare May as ALS Awareness Month in Tennessee 2015.

With no known cause, treatment or cure, ALS is a rapidly-progressive disease that claims the lives of an estimated 130 individuals in Tennessee each year. Nearly 30,000 Americans are living with ALS at any given time, and there are approximately 450 cases in Tennessee alone. More than 5,600 new cases are diagnosed each year nationwide, with an average life expectancy of just two to five years.

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The resolution will be presented to the House of Representatives Chamber March 19th at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the State Capitol building.

After the reading, Shaw will discuss that NFL players and veterans have a higher incidence of ALS than the general population.

Closing in on his 30th birthday last March, Shaw was diagnosed with ALS in April of 2014.

Shaw was a fifth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2007. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago before signing with the Titans in 2010 and playing in 48 games over the next three seasons.

Here is a story that WGNS' Scott Walker did in recent weeks on ALS: CLICK HERE

About The ALS Association Tennessee Chapter
The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. For more information about The ALS Association, visit our website at ww.alstn.org.

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