Terri and I grew up on the same suburban, Detroit street from the age of 6 in the early 1970s until we left for college. Our homes were 10 houses apart. We are just 3 months apart in age (I’m older), but I was a grade in front of her in school. Growing up, we were inseparable. We played a lot of Barbie’s. We both were John Glenn High School Pompon girls back in the 80s. We both graduated from Eastern Michigan University, living together in an apartment the last 2 years. We both married and served as each other’s maid of honor. We both had two kids and made our homes in Canton, Michigan. All four of our kids went to the same high school and were in the same marching band.
On Halloween week of 2014, Terri, my daughter Nicole, and I all participated in a local 5K. My husband drove us to the race and dropped us off. He later shared that Terri appeared to be slurring her words.
About a month after that, Terri heard from more friends about the slurring, and she tried to see her doctor. The next available appointment was six weeks out. So she checked into ER to figure out the problem.
After two months of tests, the doctors confirmed that Terri had ALS on January 8, 2015 – Stephen Hawking’s birthday. Terri was quick to communicate her situation with a long post on Facebook letting her 800+ friends know of her situation. Now it was real.
My background is in marketing & PR. So, we started a GoFundMe page. We built a website. We created a slogan to make it easy. Basically, we branded the situation. Because the one thing I learned in business school is that all good campaigns start with a strong brand. So MyFriendTerri.com was born. We made t-shirts. We hosted fundraisers. We zumba’d. We bowled. We golfed. We tweeted. We posted. We even were invited to local TV stations to share our message.
Most of all, we advocated. We educated. We communicated.
Terri is a true warrior and is still fighting today as both an advocate and a pALS. Together with her full time caregiver and superhero husband, Jeff, we are praying for a cure. I believe ALS TDI will find it!
This ALS Awareness Month marks our fourth annual MyFriendTerri.com Charity Golf Tournament benefitting both Terri and the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). It takes place on Saturday, May 11 at Fellows Creek Golf Club at 2936 Lotz Road, Canton, MI 48188 beginning at 8:00 am. Tickets are $125 per golfer. Entry includes 18 holes, scramble with cart and gift prizes. You can sponsor a hole for just $100, or attend the banquet only for $40. Visit MyfriendTerri.com for more information and to register to attend.
- Peggy Fenwick