My daughter, Tanya, was diagnosed in Feb 2002 with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) at the age of 18 years. She passed away peacefully at home on July 11, 2002 at the age of 19 within 5 months of being diagnosed and living courageously with ALS. She is one of only two Canadians to die so young of an illness commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She is the youngest person ever to have been diagnosed with ALS in Alberta.

    She had three wishes that came true with the generous help of the Sunshine Foundation: Riding in a limo to West Edmonton Mall, petting the dolphins at the Mall and meeting Adam. During her illness, Adam Gregory, the famous young country singer of Edmonton was in contact with Tanya on a daily basis either by phone or in person. Adam became a dear friend of Tanya's and spoke of her in an Edmonton Sun Article (Aug 1, 2002). He invited Tanya to his CD release party on July 3, 2002. This was just short of five months after she was diagnosed with ALS. This was her last outing. Adam's CD was called "Working on It" and he wrote a dedication to Tanya called "Don't Look The Other Way". On the CD sleeve he wrote to "To Tanya Sherriff, a very special friend I met a few months ago, who suffers from ALS Disease. STAY STRONG, TANYA". Tanya was buried with a T-shirt embossed with a signature of Adam's name, a teddy bear that he gave her and a picture of her family with Adam together on the day they met. Adam Gregory sang and spoke at Tanya's funeral. He was asked and accepted to be one of the pallbearers.

    At West Edmonton Mall the mother dolphin (Mavis) bore a baby dolphin and it passed away on the same day as Tanya. It could be that their spirits went away together that day.

    I have learned a tremendous amount about the nerves and muscles that are affected by ALS. I have studied what devices are currently on the market to try and overcome the most severe problems affecting ALS patients. One barrier that could not be overcome was the loss of communication we had with our daughter. Tanya's condition deteriorated quickly and with that came the loss of control of her arms and hands. This was particularly cruel as my husband, Harry (nicknamed Buster), and I are both deaf and our primary means of communication with Tanya was using American Sign Language. This was devastating to us as we would try and read Tanya's lips and she would try and mouth what she needed to say.

    We have one other son, Tyler, who is non-deaf and he recently turned 18 years old. He too has learned a lot about ALS through Tanya's journey of being diagnosed and going through the illness of ALS.

    I was the primary caregiver to Tanya for five months. To me the word "Caregiver" means - being on call 24 hours a day and continuing to be a mother. I have been asked what advice I would give to other parents caring for child living with ALS??? Remember your "child" is an adult - even if you have to feed and bath her, clean her room and take care of her belongings. It is vital to respect his/her wishes even if you know it is not in their best interest. There were times that I had information through networking and research but I still felt that her wishes came first... even if I had the "theory".

    Our family faced many horrible losses due to ALS in the months that followed Tanya's death. Part of our healing process has been to volunteer for The ALS Society of Alberta in Edmonton. Some of my duties have included:

- labeling funeral envelopes

- newsletter - labels and stuffing envelopes

- attending and presenting at a luncheon

    My husband, Buster, son Tyler, and I went to The Edmonton Walk to D'Feet ALS on Sept 28, 2002. We are looking forward to going again for the Walk to D'Feet ALS on Sept 27, 2003 to support The ALS Society of Canada and Alberta.

ALS TOOK OUR DAUGHTER'S LIFE AWAY... We all miss our much- loved TANYA.

I hope that people become aware and help donate whatever they can to The ALS Society of Canada and Alberta, too.

CHERYL SHERRIFF

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." Og Mandino