Hi there, my name is Dave Janisse. Thanks for being here.

I am writing to you on my Tobii Dynavox eye gaze device. I was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in the summer of 2024. I can’t even move any finger a millimeter because ALS breaks your motor neurons, which is what your brain uses to communicate with your muscles. The good news is that my brain and eyes will always work, so I wrote this message by staring at letters on this special tablet for one second each, one at a time. Excruciating. I won’t go into too much detail here because I have several videos on other tabs describing my journey with ALS as well as a couple videos so you can get to know me. Click on a few of those to learn more. I really want to educate everyone about ALS.

At the end of last year I discovered that my company was only going to pay me $300 a month for long-term disability leaving me with that, and my partial social security check as my income. I worked very hard my whole life and never asked anyone for money, but ALS costs, on average, $150,000 each year. Later this year I will be having tracheostomy surgery and will need a full-time trained nurse, which I can’t afford. I will need your help to continue my journey. But don’t worry, I am not asking for much. If you can just donate $20, or whatever amount is meaningful to you, it’s a help. The bigger ask is that you tell 20 of your friends about me and ALS.

If you choose to donate, thanks so much! It will be a huge help and allow me more precious time with friends and family. And if not, please spread the word about ALS.

Thanks for listening. Appreciate you