[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE THIRD ANNUAL JIMMY KENNEDY MEMORIAL RUN FOR AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL 
                            SCLEROSIS (ALS)

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2000

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the organizers and 
runners of the Squirrel Run III, also known as the Third Annual Jimmy 
Kennedy Memorial Run for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis [ALS], on June 
10 in Quincy, in the Tenth District of Massachusetts.
  The race honors two members of a highly respected Quincy family who 
succumbed to the ravages of ALS, which is better known as Lou Gehrig's 
Disease. Christopher Kennedy, former president of the Quincy School 
Committee, dean at Northeastern University, and honored civic leader, 
died at the age of 66. His youngest son, Jimmy (``Squirrel'') lost his 
agonizing 2-year battle in 1997, succumbing just before his 31st 
birthday.
  ALS is a disease with no known cause or cure. It is relentlessly 
progressive and always fatal, attacking and destroying nerve cells 
called motor neurons, which control the movement of voluntary muscles. 
Gradually and inexorably, day-to-day existence becomes increasingly 
difficult. Fine motor control is first to suffer, followed by 
functional capabilities such as standing and walking. Ultimately speech 
becomes impossible and the ability to swallow is lost. Finally the 
victim is unable to breathe. In perhaps the cruelest twist of all, 
while the body wastes away, the mind and senses are competely 
unaffected. Throughout the terrible process, the victim's intellect 
remains intact, providing a clear and cruel awareness of their 
situation. Victims have related that suffering from ALS is akin to 
taking part in their own funeral. Family, friends, and physicians can 
only stand helplessly by and watch the terrible and inevitable 
deterioration.
  ALS cuts across all racial, gender and social lines, claiming more 
than 5,000 victims every year, with approximately 13 new cases 
diagnosed each day. An estimated 300,000 Americans, who are alive and 
apparently well today, will be diagnosed and ultimately die from ALS.
  In the brief time since its inception, the Squirrel Run has been an 
amazing success, especially considering this grassroots effort was 
conceived and intiated by two proud amateurs, starting with nothing but 
pain and frustration. The Quincy natives, Richard Kennedy and Martin 
Levenson, have teamed to make the Squirrel Run a visible and successful 
example of how hard work, dedication and commitment to a cause can make 
a difference in peoples' lives.
  All proceeds from the Squirrel Run go directly to the Day 
Neuromuscular Research Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 
The Day Lab is at the forefront of the battle against ALS, and world-
renowned for research into its cause and cure. The success of the 
Squirrel Run will benefit citizens of the Commonwealth of 
Masssachusetts as well as ALS victims worldwide who are desperately 
seeking a cure.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in saluting the commitment of all 
those associated with Squirrel Run III and to draw on this dedication 
to redouble our own efforts to accelerate reserach to overcome the 
challenge of ALS.

                          ____________________