ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. (als.org) The nerve cells in the brain send signals to the spinal cord which then affects the person's muscles. This wasting away of those signals cause the scaring or hardening of the muscles, causing the person to not be able to move those areas.
The Oklahoman's sports writer, Jenni Carlson, wrote an article over Tyler's story on April 16th of this year (see article link). Please read this touching story of courage and family that supports their family HERO.
There is also a GoFundMe page for Tyler (
Click Here
where you can help their family with expenses and over-all assistance.There is also another article about Tyler from the Capital Gazette:
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Navy football alum Tyler Tidwell battling ALS: ‘No family should ever have to go through this’
By BILL WAGNER
CAPITAL GAZETTE |
MAY 01, 2020
Tyler Tidwell ignored the early warning signals.
In January 2018, the former Navy football player noticed he was having subtle, infrequent issues with his speech. By the summer of that year, the speech issues had gotten worse and Tidwell was also experiencing upper body muscle twitching.
By the time fall rolled around, Tidwell was suddenly suffering unusual weakness in his left hand.
“True to the male ego, it was this getting weaker issue that finally convinced me to go to the doctor,” Tidwell wrote.
A few months later, after countless tests revealed zero abnormalities in his health, the top physician with the neuromuscular clinic at Linda Loma Medical Center informed Tidwell the symptoms and slowly progressive nature of their presentation were a “hand-in-glove fit” for a motor neuron disease of some sort.
Tidwell, a standout linebacker for the Navy football program from 2003 through 2006, was officially diagnosed with ALS in August 2019 following independent evaluations conducted at Walter Reed Naval Hospital and the University of Virginia Medical Center.
“It’s a difficult situation, and I certainly don’t want to downplay it. In many ways, it’s harder on some of my closest family members than it is on me,” Tidwell wrote to The Capital. “That said, someone always has it worse.”
“Half the time, we try to pretend that things are OK. You can’t dwell on it every day. I don’t want to spend the rest of the time just crying.”
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