Community Corner

Fighting ALS: Resident Inspired by Sister's Determination

Melissa Wilder, of Manhattan, is running a Tag Days Drive to raise money for research for Lou Gehrig's disease. Wilder's sister, Mindy, was diagnosed with the disease 20 years ago but continues to fight to survive and raise her daughter.

If you're around New Lenox on Saturday, May 19, take a quick detour over to Nelson and Laraway roads—it's for a good cause. 

Manhattan resident Melissa Wilder's life, as well as that of her family, took a detour 20 years ago when her sister was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which attacks a person’s muscles and often carries a life expectancy of up to five years. 

Wilder's sister, Mindy Williams, has beaten the odds and, despite declining health, serves as an inspiration to others who have been diagnosed with ALS. She continues her fight while raising a daughter with Down syndrome.

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For everything the Les Turner ALS Foundation has done for her sister, including research and financial and transportation assistance, Wilder wanted to do more to give back.

"It was always something that I felt there was something more we could do, but I didn't know what," Wilder said.

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Enter Tag Days. Since 1994, thousands of volunteers have organized donation drives. The Les Turner ALS Foundation has a goal of raising more than $100,000 from Tag Days. The campaign is sponsored by Patch.com, VisoGraphics and Sta-Bil. 

Wilder's Tag Days Drive is one of 30 throughout the Chicago area. Others in the south suburbs include Evergreen Park and Flossmoor. Wilder and other volunteers will be at the intersection of Laraway and Nelson roads (by ) from 9 a.m. to about 2 p.m. this Saturday, May 19. 

In 1992, Williams gave birth to her daughter, who has Down syndrome. Just a few months later, Williams was diagnosed with ALS. She was washing windows at her home and dropped a window pane, cutting her hand. It was later discovered she had ALS when she was losing feeling in her hands. 

Williams has now lost all strength in her legs and is confined to a wheelchair, unable to use her hands and arms. As the disease begins to attack her throat muscles, she is slurring her words. With ALS, "everything goes but the brain," Wilder said. 

"The doctors gave her a 5-year life expectancy. So what a great suprise that 15 years longer than that, she is a great advocate for the monthly ALS support groups," Wilder said of her sister. "They hear her story, and she's hope for them and their families." 

Each year Wilder and her family attend the Les Turner ALS Foundation’s largest event, the ALS Walk4Life in Chicago, but they have never organized a Tag Days drive. 

“Mindy is truly a special person and it’s wonderful to see her sister plan the local Tag Days drive in her honor,” said Wendy Abrams, executive director of the Les Turner ALS Foundation. “The Tag Days fundraiser requires only a few supplies and many willing volunteers, which allows us to invest a very high percentage of proceeds directly into critical services that benefit the ALS community.”

Williams lives in Chicago Ridge with her daughter and has the help of full-time care workers. Recently, a van donated by the Les Turner Foundation broke down, so Williams is without transportation. 

"She's trying to be as independent as she can for as long as she can," Wilder said. "Mindy’s will to survive is incredibly strong. She is determined to be there for her child as long as possible."

For more information about ALS or to volunteer for Tag Days, call 847-679-3311 or go to lesturnerals.org.


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