ALS is a neurological disease that robs people of using
every muscle in their body,
affecting their ability to walk,
breathe and eat. It typically occurs later in life,
but a young woman in her 20s is fighting it
and trying to pave the way for others to get
better treatments.
She wants everyone to realize our very own community can
still help during this ALS Awareness Month.
Shelby Kinsey recently graduated from Texas Tech.
She felt great at the time and was hopeful for
a bright future.
Now this go getter is fighting for her life because
of the shocking diagnosis of ALS,
or a myotrophic Lateral sclerosis,
also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
It all started back in about April of last year.
I was surfing tables and I had fallen one day
in about a week or two.
After that I noticed I couldn't really go upstairs anymore.
I was falling a lot
and then I've just progressed from there.
It's been doctor after doctor.
Nobody knew what was wrong until they were able to
diagnose me in on January 17th
of this year. It progressed quickly from Shelby using crutches
to relying on a wheelchair.
She's been working with the ALS Association to get her
insurance company to cover a new FDA approved treatment of
Calcity,
a medication specifically designed to target her type of genetic
ALS.
They gave us administrative approval with Shelby being what they
call living breathing documentation.
So she will be what this is the deciding factor
in six months whether they continue or not paying for
it.
She says they're already seeing a difference after receiving 4
doses through lumbar punctures.
It should take quite some time.
We've definitely seen a slow in the progression of everything.
My biomarkers that we're tracking have dropped already,
so that is a very good sign,
but it'll probably be a few more doses
before we physically see any improvement.
Something that started out ten years ago as a simple
challenge,
then turned into a global mission to end ALS is
being thanked for the latest treatments.
The Viral Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than
$115 million in just a few months to help research
new treatments,
and it's underway again to finally find a cure.
30,000 people are living with ALS and not expected to
live five years past diagnosis.
Even with the grim diagnosis,
Shelby's loving family remains optimistic.
We are actually really good.
Shelby has such an amazing spirit.
She's so sweet and she's always happy and
she just makes it easy to deal with all of
this because,
you know, she never worries about herself.
It's always everybody else 1st,
and
it's just so hard to be sad around her.
What a strong young lady and mom.
Join us for lunch for The Soul at 12:30 today.
Shelby and her mom will share how their faith helps
keep them so strong.
You can find us on Fox
26 houston.com. You can also find us on our free
Fox local app for your smart TV.
They have a lot of words of advice.