Diane's Story
Life-changing gifts
Diane and Derek Walton
Diane Rowat-Walton knows firsthand the difference a gift can make in support of Sunnybrook’s ALS Clinic. Her husband, Derek, passed away in 2015 after living 13 incredible years with ALS. Derek was arguably the clinic’s most energetic champion, raising more than $300,000 for research and care, and participating in countless clinical trials and as a patient mentor.
Read below for Diane’s touching testimonial that truly demonstrates the power and impact of making a donation to support ALS research and care at Sunnybrook.
May 2002 was the beginning of our journey at the ALS Clinic at Sunnybrook Hospital. Derek and I had only been married 8 months when a neurologist at St Michaels Hospital in Toronto told us that he felt Derek had a "motor neuron" disease and he was referring us to a doctor at Sunnybrook for confirmation. A quick call to our daughter, the nurse, made us aware that we were probably facing a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
We knew very little about this disease other that it was fatal and had an average life expectancy of 2.7 years. What a horrible thing to learn 8 months into your marriage.
My husband Derek's journey lasted more than 13 years and those years would not have been possible without the support of Dr. Zinman and his team at the Sunnybrook ALS Clinic. He and his team provide physical, social, emotional, and spiritual support to each ALS patient and their families.
We were always aware of any product or service that would make our life easier and would make our journey easier and more tolerable.
We looked forward to each quarterly visit and knew that we could contact anyone at the clinic at any time. The staff members are all very professional but always caring, compassionate and give you all the time you needed at each visit. They became family and gave us everything that we needed to continue on this journey.
Derek and I wanted to do all we could to support the clinic and the efforts of Dr. Zinman, so we set up our family foundation at the Sunnybrook Foundation and did everything we could to raise the funds needed to help find a cure for this horrible disease.
Derek's journey with ALS ended in January of 2015 but that will never end my relationship with the ALS Clinic. I will continue to support and help in any way I can.
Sincerely,
Diane Rowat-Walton