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Okay...who is Aimee?

Aimee is the mother of Nicholas (age 14), Emily (11) and Zachary (7) pictured below. She loves them dearly. She kisses their boo-boos, soothes their hurt feelings, hugs them tightly when they've had bad dreams. She would do anythingendure anythingto spare them pain. And she aches for them, knowing there is one pain she can't prevent.

The pain of losing their mom far too soon
. (Okay, a little melodramatic--cue the violins--but unfortunately, it's also true.)

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Nicholas, Zachary and Emily

She is the planner of silly games and messy crafts for her kids' birthday parties. She used to love to read aloud to her children, her voice jumping octaves as she used all kinds of crazy accents and intonations for the different characters.

 

But she rarely reads aloud now; her speech is slurred, her voice is scratchy, and reading one short book wears her out.

 

She's trying to learn about Pokémon, but so far finds it beyond her comprehension—much to Nick's chagrin. She's a recovering sudoku addict. She's learning to play chess.

 

She increasingly turns to mind games as her body betrays her. One by one, her muscle groups will fail, but her brain will not.

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Aimee's husband, Jim

She is a die-hard Cardinals fan who married Jim, a Cubs fan, and cheers for both (well, at least when they're not playing each other).

 

And ALS is robbing them of their future.

 

She spends ridiculous amounts of time frosting her famous "Mimi cookies" to fit any theme. And she spends even more ridiculous amounts of time scrapbooking and writing, so her children will have a part of her to keep with them always.

 

Because she will be gone too soon.

 

Aimee is a reluctant warrior, drawn into the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease—a disease that slurs Aimee's speech and erodes her strength, causes her to choke and splutter and stumble and fall. A disease that leads her oldest to use his third-grade math skills to try to figure out Aimee's life expectancy. A disease that leads Jim to work hard all day, then come home to another full-time job of picking up the slack with the cooking, housekeeping, errand-running, etc. A disease that leads her children to worry about whether wicked stepmothers really exist. 

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Aimee

In 1941, ALS killed Lou Gehrig at the age of 37. Now, 68 years later, there is still no cure. Aimee is fortunate to have now made it to 40 (wow!), but too many patients aren't that lucky. We are committed to raising awareness and raising funds to bring an end to ALS—for Aimee, for her family, and for all ALS families.

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What's new?

Check out this area for what's new on askaboutaimee.com. We will try to remember to add an entry whenever we update the website.


8/22/11 - Added "Breaking News!" to "The Latest" page.
9/5/10 - Added "And Many More..." to "The Latest" page.
8/3/10 - Added "Both My Arms Fell Off..." to "The Latest" page.
7/5/10 - Added "Missing Teeth and More Milestones" to "The Latest" page.
5/13/10 - Added "Vote for Kinga!" to "The Latest" page. 
4/05/10 - Added "Dear Tiger" to "The Latest" page.
1/14/10 - Added "Kitchenophobia" to "The Latest" page.
1/09/10 - Added "A New Year, A New Approach" to "The Latest" page.
9/11/09 - Added "Walking...4Life" to "The Latest" page.
9/5/09 - Added "40" to "The Latest" page.
8/10/09 - Added "So Sorry: Cookies 4 a Cure Canceled" to "The Latest" page.
7/21/09 - Added "Own the Coolest T-shirt on Your Block!" to "Walk4Life 2009" page.
7/21/09 - Added "Cookies 4 a Cure: 2009 Update" to "ALS Activism" page. 
7/20/09 - Added "They Tried to Make Me Go to Rehab" to "The Latest" page.
7/17/09 - Exciting new , interactive feature! On "The Latest" page, you may now post a comment in reply to Aimee's posts. Yippee!
7/17/09 - Added "Can I Still Walk 2 Miles?" to "The Latest" page.
7/17/09 - Added "Free Massages!" to the "Walk4Life 2009" page.
6/30/09 - Added "Cookies 4 a Cure Is Back!" to "The Latest" page.
6/07/09 - Added "A Kiss Is Just a Kiss (Or Not!)" to "The Latest" page.
3/26/09 - Added "B 2 Skrace"  to "The Latest" page.
3/13/09 - Added "Lasagna Dinner: Round Two" to "The Latest" page.
3/10/09 - Added "Clean-up on Aisle...uh...at the Front of the Store" to "The Latest" page.
2/28/09 - Added "Thank You, Michael Jordan" to "The Latest" page.
1/24/09 - Added "First, an Apology" to "The Latest" page. Added "Spin Again: Cycle for ALS" to "ALS Activism" page.
9/8/08 - Added "What Were You Doing Four Years Ago Today?" to "The Latest" page.
8/14/08 - Added "Three Little Words..." to "The Latest" page.
8/12/08 - Added "Vote Now!" to the "ALS Activism" page.
7/31/08 - Added "Bad News" update to "The Latest" page.
7/27/08 - Added "T-shirt Order Form" to "Walk4Life 2008" page.
7/27/08 - Added "Cookies 4 a Cure: Update 2" to "ALS Activism" page.
7/20/08 - Added "Missed Opportunity" to "The Latest" page.
7/12/08 - Added "A Very Important Rule" to "The Latest" page.
7/08/08 - Added "If you can jump..." to "The Latest" page.
6/29/08 - Added "Rules Redux" entry to "The Latest" page.
6/28/08 - Added "Rockin' Out to 'Camp Rock'" entry to "The Latest" page.
6/27/08 - Added "Slap, Scratch, Repeat..." entry to "The Latest" page.
6/26/08 - Added "Why Did the ALS Patient Cross the Road?" entry to "The Latest" page.
6/25/08 - Added letter to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to "Letters" page.
6/24/08 - Added "Rules of the Game"  entry to "The Latest" page.
6/23/08 - Added a very special message to "The Latest" page.
6/22/08 - Added "Say What?" entry to "The Latest" page.
6/21/08 - Added "Good Fortune" entry to "The Latest" page; moved blog intro to the bottom of the page to make it easier to see new entries.
6/20/08 - Added link to Ask About Aimee team page to the "Walk4Life 2008" page. Registration is open! Added "Water in My Eyes" entry to "The Latest" page.
6/19/08 - Added "Cookies 4 a Cure" update to "ALS Activism" page.
5/18/08 - Added Nick's persuasive essay "Make a Difference: Join the Fight Against ALS" to the "Kid's Corner" page.
5/17/08 - Added "You Got the Wrong Gal, Alec" entry to "The Latest" page.
5/5/08 - Added brief entry "No Thank You..." on "The Latest" page.
3/21/08 - Created "Letters" page. Moved letters from "Activism" page to "Letters" page and added new letter to Senator Arlen Specter prompted by his recent "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" appearance.
3/19/08 - Added page "Gala 2008."
2/20/08 - Updated blog with "Letters" on "The Latest" page.
1/31/08 - Updated blog with "What Were You Doing at 3:23 a.m.?" on "The Latest" page.
1/09/08 - Updated blog with "There and Back Again" on "The Latest" page.