jStafe of ^fortl| (Earolma
PAT McCRORY
GOVERNOR
AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS AWARENESS MONTH
2014
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is better known as Lou Gehrig's disease; it is a fatal
neurodegenerative disease characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower motor neurons in the gray matter of the
anterior horns of the spinal cord; and
WHEREAS, the initial symptom of ALS is weakness of the skeletal muscles, especially those of the extremities; as
ALS progresses, the patient experiences difficulty in swallowing, talking and breathing; ALS eventually causes muscles to
atrophy and the patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and
WHEREAS, ALS usually does not affect a patient's mental capacity, so that the patient remains alert and aware of his
or her loss of motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued deterioration and death; and
WHEREAS, on average, patients diagnosed with ALS only survive two to five years from the time of diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, means of prevention or cure; and
WHEREAS, research indicates that military veterans are at a 60 percent or greater risk of developing ALS than those
who have not served in the military; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Veterans Affairs implemented regulations to establish a presumption of service
connection for ALS, thereby presuming that the development of ALS was incurred or aggravated by a veteran’s service in the
military; and
WHEREAS, a national ALS patient registry, administered by the Centers for Disease Control, is currently identifying
cases of ALS in the United States and may become the single-largest ALS research project ever created; and
WHEREAS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month increases public awareness of ALS and acknowledges
the terrible impact this disease has not only on the patient, family and community and encourages research eradicate this disease;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PAT McCRORY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 2014 as
“AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS AWARENESS MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to
all citizens.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at
the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-sixth day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and fourteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.