CHRIS MANN'S STORY

By Tamara Goertz
Imagine being trapped in a body that slowly ceases to work. Air Canada employee Chris Mann can’t recall his first thoughts when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
“I was so empty,” Chris said. “The biggest blow is the loss of your future.” ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a fatal neurological disorder. Life expectancy is between three to five years and usually affects middle-aged men. Within months of diagnosis, sufferers lose their full ability to use their arms and legs and sometimes their voice. Their minds are not impaired.
Sitting in his sunny living room, Chris stoically explained that he doesn’t feel defeated and will instead steer his remaining energy into his family and helping others.
“I feel I will live at least another year. I have the chance to make a difference, leave a mark,” he said.
Indeed, a busy schedule has emerged from his struggles, including giving a speech at an ALS symposium in November and having dinner with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, in December. “Fergie”, a long-time activist for ALS in Britain, told Horizons that she is the victims’ voice.
“I don’t think anyone realizes just what a debilitating and tragic disease it is,” Fergie said. “You are suddenly diagnosed with having (ALS); you read up on it, and you realize you are going to die. It’s just terrifying.”
Chris is well known in Calgary, having worked for 29 years in several areas, including Lead Station Attendant, ramp training instructor and Customer Service Manager. He was involved with the union as a chief shop steward and later became Vice-President of local 2324.
He was health and safety co-chairman and an Employee Assistance Program representative as well.
When symptoms first appeared last February, 50-year-old Chris didn’t think anything was wrong. He couldn’t start a staff van with his right hand, and later when his muscles started to twitch he simply attributed these symptoms to stress. “Then one day I tripped over a cement block on the ramp - I was laughing; my radio and clipboard went flying,” Chris said. “But I started having a lot of these little trips.”
He was then diagnosed with ALS, which usually starts in one leg.
Chris worked three more months but gave up. “It got to a point I couldn’t mask my emotions anymore. Someone could ask a question in class, and if the response related to danger I’d start to cry,” he said. “I was so drained when I was there. I just couldn’t do it.”
Fellow employees miss him as much as he misses them and said - unlike his health - his vivacity, wit and charm remain unscathed. “He’s still the same; he loves to tell a story,” said Station Attendant Shaun Foster, who recently met with Chris.
News of the illness has deeply impacted Chris’s family - wife, Rosemary, and his five daughters: Sara, 18; Patricia, 22; Teresa, 24; Melanie, 26 and Amanda, 31. “My family has taken this with great difficulty,” Chris said. “But now I spend more time with my family,” he said smiling wide-eyed. “And that’s wonderful.”
Patricia and her sisters recently surprised Chris and Rosemary on their 30-year wedding anniversary with an elaborate party, which family and friends, including many Air Canada employees, attended. To get around at home, Chris recently renovated his home, including installation of a wheelchair-friendly hardwood floor (a gift from his co-workers) and an elevator.
Despite his condition, Chris, with renewed determination, will return to work to help with de-icing training.
Tamara Goertz is a Station Attendant in Calgary, and one of Chris’s many friends.

"If you are scared to go to the brink you are lost." John Foster Dulles

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