One in 300. That's a person's lifetime risk for developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ALS is a progressive, terminal neurodegenerative disease that destroys the nerve cells which pass movement signals throughout your body.
Iroquois High School students now know this statistic — because one of their own alumnus lived it. And because of that same graduate, over 70 classes, auditoriums and schools across the country have now heard that statistic and know what they can do to help support people with ALS.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we share the story of the late Tim Lowrey, a 1985 graduate of Iroquois High School who went on to become a pharmacist, a husband, and ultimately a passionate national advocate for people with ALS. This May, which is also ALS awareness month, students at his alma mater got to hear from the panel he created and understand the ripple effect one person can have.
To learn more about the Tim Lowrey ALS Panel Series, click here.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript created by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins and this is the Disabilities Beat.
[Music fades out, a woman over a speaker asks if the crowd can give a round of applause. The crowd erupts in applause that continues under the narration]
At Iroquois High School in mid-May, assistant principal Alexis Langheier speaks to students.
Alexis Langheier:
...And for the ability for us to, again, hear the story of how, here was one former student from Iroquois who chose “I want to have the power to change the world through such an unfortunate diagnosis while living life well.” And I think that's what we have seen through the legacy that is Tim Lowrey...
Emyle Watkins:
Emily Lowrey, Tim's widow, joined Langheier in front of students for the Tim Lowrey Panel Series. Behind her, a screen with other representatives from I AM ALS, a patient-led national organization for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, joined to speak with students. Tim, who graduated from Iroquois in 1985, passed away on New Year's Day after living with ALS for seven years.
Emily Lowrey:
I'd say this with absolute truthfulness: the most important time in my husband's life was while he was living with ALS, it's really when he became a person who systematically wanted to give back and made relationships with people all over the country. And turned into this just deeply, deeply compassionate, loving person. It was beautiful to see him.
Emyle Watkins:
In high school, Tim Lowrey was known for his kindness and as the school's starting quarterback. He went on to become a successful pharmacist. And while living in Florida, Emily moved across the street from him.
Emily Lowrey:
My cousin kept calling me from Alabama. "Have you met anyone? Have you met anyone?" I'm like, "No, I'm just watching this really attractive guy go to the pool every day and that's all I'm going to do, like, nothing else."
Emyle Watkins:
They finally met when Emily was heading out to see a doctor because she was feeling sick.
Emily Lowrey:
He was like, "What are your symptoms?" And I'm just like, "This is strange, right?" He was like, "Do you have diarrhea?" And I'm like, "Oh my God." But it turned out he was a pharmacist and that is a very normal question that you say without laughing.
Emyle Watkins:
He brought her medication and food. Days later, Emily returned the leftover medication.
Emily Lowrey:
He was like, "I'm making dinner. Can I make dinner for you too?" And he made dinner for me that night and the next night and the next night.
Emyle Watkins:
Tim and Emily got 20 years together. In 2018, he was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive terminal neurodegenerative disease that destroys the nerve cells which pass movement signals throughout your body. In the seven years Tim lived with ALS, Emily says she saw a new side of him.
Emily Lowrey:
It was just about love and listening to other people and “how can I help?” And Tim wasn't hugely egotistical before or anything, but it just stripped him down to something like so raw and so beautiful.
Emyle Watkins:
Tim's ALS galvanized him and Emily. Emily went back to school for public health. Tim started a live panel series that spread across the country, the same one students at his alma mater heard this month, which aims to educate students on both the condition and careers working with people with neurological disabilities.
Emily Lowrey:
Every college and university in the area has held a panel series, which is wonderful. Some have been for occupational therapy, physical therapy, ENT, nutrition, for medical schools, for social workers, et cetera, which is really great. And then across the country, Auburn, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and then there were dozens and dozens and dozens of schools, but strategically there was an outreach to areas that are care deserts.
Emyle Watkins:
Sophomore Trey shared that he connected and could relate to Emily's experience of grief and is interested in pursuing a career that can help others with their mental health.
Trey:
I also want to help more on the mental health side of it, maybe helping people that suffer with diseases and how they can handle it integrating into normal life.
Emyle Watkins:
Tim's legacy perhaps shows just how far one person's self-advocacy and care can ripple, even after death, and how storytelling can help us build the care network our country needs.
Emily Lowrey:
ALS may touch their [students] orbit too. And I hope that it gives them some information about the disease, about how families respond to it. They're aware of clinical trials. And also, maybe, they choose to pursue this as a career to give back because we need it in Western New York. We need to build up the infrastructure for ALS care here.
Emyle Watkins:
For more on this story, visit our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
