ALS Walk in Honor of Thad Hebbe
Published 6:00 am Thursday, October 21, 2021
- Susan and Thad Hebbe
Family and friends are taking their cause to the track this weekend to support Limestone County native and business owner Thad Hebbe.
Hebbe was diagnosed earlier this year with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare neurological disease that primarily affects the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement.
The ALS Walk in Honor of Thad Hebbe will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at Blue Springs Elementary School track in the Clements community. Registration will start at 9:30 a.m.
“I’m going to walk because my husband was diagnosed with the silent monster, ALS,” said his wife, Susan Hebbe. “This has hit us very hard, but with God’s help, we will get through this. There is no cure for ALS at this time, but with the help of donating to research, we hope and pray it will soon.”
She said money raised will support the ALS Association Alabama Chapter in the North Alabama area.
Thad Hebbe is undergoing treatment in an attempt to slow down the progression of the disease, and still works as he can with his business Thad Hebbe Heating and Air Conditioning.
Among those who have registered to walk in his honor are his immediate family as well as aunts, cousins, friends and some members of Coxey Church of Christ. As of Tuesday, Oct. 19, all the North Alabama teams, which includes Team Hebbe, had raised $85,377 of a $90,000 goal for the 2021 Walk to Defeat ALS North Alabama.
According to the ALS Association, every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. It is a “progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of a person with ALS averages two to five years from the time of diagnosis.”
There is no known cause of the disease, and it costs loved ones an average of $250,000 a year to provide the care people living with ALS and their families need.