What is ALS?
Possible cause of Bunky's ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or, ALS, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease.
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ALS is also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," which refers to an American baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in the 1940s.
The disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which causes motor neurons to progressively deteriorate.
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During this process, the brain loses its control over muscle movement.
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In the later stages of ALS, like in Bunky’s case, patients can become totally paralyzed, and even lose the ability to breathe on their own.
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ALS patients eventually die from the progressive deterioration of the motor neurons.

There is no known cause or treatment for ALS.


Bunky's Story
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Going back to speak with the doctor again, an orthopedic surgeon told Bunky that his symptoms were in fact caused by a pinched nerve, and that one final back surgery would fix the problem.
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Bunky and Mona decided not to go through with the surgery, and instead wanted to get a second opinion from a neurosurgeon.
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At the appointment, the neurosurgeon explained the possibility of Bunky having a motor neuron disease.Mona fought the possibility, believing that the symptoms were being caused by the stomach pump that had been placed in Bunky's stomach for 14 years.
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"I just knew it had something to do with that pump, " said Mona, "it was pumping every drug imaginable straight into his brain."

After seeking a final opinion from another specialist in Denver, the surgeon wanted to try one final surgery on Bunky's back. Due to the lack of signs of a motor neuron disease, the doctor dismissed the possibility of Bunky having a motor neuron disease.

The surgery worked.
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Bunky was up walking and moving soon after the surgery. However, during physical therapy, Bunky was not recovering, but instead, his symptoms were becoming worse than before.

"We went back to the doctor for testing," said Mona. "He [the doctor] saw fasciculations on Bunky's tongue, which is a major sign of ALS. "

"At that point, we knew it was ALS."
Tracy "Bunky" Bigelow injured his back for the first time while at work in 1985.
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This injury caused seven surgeries to follow between 1986-2010, and the placement of a pump under the skin near his abdomen. The pump dripped heavy doses of drugs into his spinal cord for 14 years.
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In 2005, Bunky began complaining of a numbing sensation on his left side, near his ribs. The doctors told Bunky and his wife, Mona, not to worry; that it was most likely a pinched nerve.

Bunky's hand then began feeling numb as well, and his left arm soon followed. The doctors still thought it might be a pinched nerve in his neck, and gave Bunky a brace for his arm.

By 2009, Bunky began tripping. "He would trip while walking across the parking lot of a grocery store," said Mona, "it began happening more and more as time went on."


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