My younger brother with ALS needs to see the WORLD!

Donald Lovett Start Date: Jul 17, 2023 - End Date: Jan 16, 2024
  • Ghana
  • Germany
  • France
  • Hawaii, United States of America

My Travel Story

by: Donald Lovett Start Date: Jul 17, 2023 - End Date: Jan 16, 2024
Hello everyone.. My name is Donald. I decided to start this campaign thinking only of my younger brother. We are only 2 years apart. I'm 45 and he just turned 43 July 5 of this year. Happy birthday to my little brother! He has made it another year. Not long ago my brother Terry was having some health issues around 2018 as far as I can remember. He would say little things like his legs were feeling heavy, his shoulder and arms also. Me being  the big bro that I am always was try to convince to start working out. I say come on lil bro we'll get in shape together. He would look at me and just shake his head a little bit as if he really wanted to say something, but he never did. Fast forward to 2023, he opens up to me a bit more. He tells me he's been going to the V.A. and the really couldn't figure it out why his legs and body feels like so. My brother is a father of five. And when I tell you he did and does everything for my nieces and nephew, his wife. He wouldn't rest until everyone in his house was settled first. This is after getting up with them for school, getting them dressed, feeding them, dropping them off at 2 different schools. Then comes back home gets himself ready for work and drop his wife off to her job, then he works 10 hours, comes home does homework, cooks , etc. He been doing this fo 16 years. So when he was talking to me about how his legs and shoulders were feeling heavy like he had no control over them at times, I only thought he was just wore out and needed days of just rest. Fast forward back this year, I tried to call him one day and he did not answer. Sometimes my bro disappears so I figured as usual that he was busy. Well that 1 day became a week, and honestly I was a little angry because I felt like what if I had called him concerning our mother being sick or something of the sort and he's just not answering the phone. So at the moment, I was just about to say to myself that my brother ain't you know what! Before I could think it all the way out, my phone rang. It's my younger bro. Before I could even get a word out he says to me, remember I was going to the V.A. etc? I was like yeah of course. He then says that the VA got his results back from testing and that they didn't have the resources he needed, so they referred him to UNC Chapel Hill. I'm like ok , so his story starts to perk my ears open wider and wider. Next he then says to me that he goes to the doctor in Chapel Hill and this doctor looks at my brother both in amazement and sadness at the same time. The doctor proceeds to tell my little bro, 43 years old that he has ALS, aka Lou Gehrig disease. The doctor says to my brother that people who have had ALS for this amount of time isn't walking around and most don't make it past 2 years. My bro has been walking around in secret about this disease he had for I don't know how long. The doctor ask him for a hug because it's damn near or it is a miracle the my lil brother is still with us today. I don't know how much time we have with him on earth. So I wish for him to be able to go anywhere in the world he wants, him and his and enjoy them and his last days. That's all I want for my little brother. He deserves everything! He wrote a children's book called " Dad I Don't Like That" Read it and it will let you know the heart of my brother. Thank you for reading. 
  • Ghana
  • Germany
  • France
  • Hawaii, United States of America