Former NFL Running Back Kerry Goode Diagnosed with ALS
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) September 22, 2015 -- Kerry Goode, who played football at University of Alabama and later in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins, announced today that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Goode received the formal diagnosis on August 11, 2015, after experiencing symptoms of rapid weight loss and muscle twitches for over a year.
“Last year, when I was participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge for my dear friend and teammate, Kevin Turner, never did I stop to think that the life I was working to save would be my own,” says Kerry Goode.
ALS, also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease without any effective treatments or a cure. Most people living with ALS only survive two to five years following diagnosis. An estimated 30,000 people in the US are living with ALS today.
Kerry is known as one of the “The Goodes: Alabama’s Football Family,” as Kerry and his three brothers – Chris, Pierre and Clyde – and first cousin, Antonio Langham, played for the Crimson Tide. Kerry, his brother, Chris, and cousin, Antonio, also later went on to play in the NFL. Kerry’s teammate, Kevin Turner, who was diagnosed with ALS in May 2010, was a freshman at Alabama when Kerry was a senior.
“Kerry Goode is a great friend and even better man. I was completely shocked to hear his diagnosis. I’m praying that one day soon this diagnosis won’t be so devastating to so many families,” says Kevin Turner. “In the meantime, we are a little further down this road and The Kevin Turner Foundation will use all our experience and resources to support Kerry and his family.”
For more information about Kerry Goode, Kevin Turner or the Kevin Turner Foundation, please contact Tamara Alan at (615) 601-1002 or [email protected].
About The Kevin Turner Foundation
The Kevin Turner Foundation has been created to bring attention to ALS and the need for a cure; to raise awareness about the seriousness of brain trauma in athletes at every level of competition and its connection to motor neuron diseases like ALS; and to financially support efforts to study, treat, prevent and ultimately cure this disease. http://www.KevinTurnerFoundation.org
About ALS.net
ALS.net is the global network of people diagnosed with ALS (PALS), their care providers (CALS), family and friends, fundraising events, awareness campaigns and foundations committed to funding innovative, patient-centered research leading to the development of effective treatments and eventually a cure for ALS. ALS.net directly supports the ALS Therapy Development Institute, the world’s first and largest nonprofit biotech focused 100 percent on ALS research. Founded in 1999, the Institute brings together 30 industry-trained scientists with experience discovering drugs and bringing them to market. Led by people living with the disease and the families, they understand the urgent need to slow and stop this disease. For more information, visit http://www.als.net.
Mari Cody, ALS Therapy Development Institute, http://www.als.net, +1 617-441-7220, [email protected]
Share this article