Jumping for a cause

Derek Walton, ALS patient and Sunnybrook donor, has been jumping out of planes for a cure for ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that Derek says ultimately "buries you alive."

Derek founded Jumping for "PALS" (People with ALS), an event that he has held twice, most recently this past August, to benefit the ALS program at Sunnybrook, the largest of its kind in North America. Through these events, Derek, along with dozens of other skydivers, has raised over $150,000 by jumping out of planes at 12,500 feet.

"In order to have a life of purpose, you need to have a purpose in life," he says. "I am living with ALS. I am not dying of ALS. After all, life itself is terminal. I want to leave a legacy behind with Jumping for ‘PALS', and would like this event to continue every year after I am gone." He adds, "We don't have a Michael J. Fox for this disease because we don't live long enough to have one."

ALS attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and around the spinal cord. Total paralysis eventually takes over. Derek's case is rare. The majority of ALS patients have an average lifespan of less than three years - Derek has now been living with ALS for nine years. "As my arms and legs weaken, so too does my energy level, but not my heart," says Derek.

"I feel that because ALS affects around 3,000 Canadians only, compared to some other conditions which affect hundreds of thousands of Canadians, there isn't enough awareness or funding for this disease." Derek's purpose is to raise more than money. He wants to raise awareness of the disease. With his event being duplicated in several cities in North America, he is succeeding. And he has every intention of continuing his fundraising jumps with Jumping for "PALS" 3 scheduled for August this year where he expects over 60 skydivers to join him.

Details can be found on his web site, www.waltoncure4als.ca. Says Derek, "As my symptoms progress, I remain positive that a cure will be found. Maybe not in my lifetime, but one day. In the interim, I continue to raise awareness through public speaking engagements and my annual fundraiser for ALS research."