"Walk to Defeat ALS:" Raising money, hope for those diagnosed with a devastating disease with no cure

WEST ALLIS -- Milwaukee County's Greenfield Park, near S. 124th Street and W. Lincoln Avenue on Sunday morning, October 9th played host to the "Walk to Defeat ALS," -- an opportunity to bring hope to people living with ALS and to raise money for a cure.

Organizers say the annual "Walk to Defeat ALS" is the ALS Association's biggest event -- raising money that allows local ALS Association chapters to sustain care services and support research for much of the next year.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease -- is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis.

For reasons unknown, military veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population.

There is no cure -- and only one FDA approved drug, which modestly extends survival.

However, with your help, the ALS Association works tirelessly to fulfill its mission to create a world without ALS -- and the "Walk to Defeat ALS" is just one way they do that.

Organizers say since its inception in 2000, the "Walk to Defeat ALS" has raised over $239,100,000 through fiscal year ending January 31st, 2016.

FOX6's Jonathon Gregg was out at Greenfield Park on Sunday morning for this event:

CLICK HERE to learn more about the "Walk to Defeat ALS."

CLICK HERE to access the website for the ALS Association Wisconsin chapter, where you can learn more about ALS and help in the effort to find a cure.