This year I am raising money for the ALS foundation while preparing to run the 2025 Chicago Marathon. In 2023, a dental classmate of mine, Matt McCoy, lost his wife, Lisa, to this terrible disease and the funds raised are in honor of her.

Make memories…make a lasting impact…make the most of the time we have. Those were a few of the key takeaways when learning Matt and Lisa’s story.

They loved being active, spending much of their time in the outdoors hiking and camping with their 4 children. It was around a year after the birth of their 4th child, Lisa started noticing weakness and problems with her balance. In the following two years, Lisa went from trouble walking to being in a wheelchair. In 2020 she was diagnosed with ALS.

From that moment on, Lisa and Matt were determined to make the most of every moment, living “50 years of adventure in one year”. Through her disability, Lisa, Matt, and kids traveled, camped, and she even got to “snorkel” in Hawaii. In 2023 she passed, surrounded by Matt and their 4 children.

She was a lover of life, family, and adventure. Her legacy lives on through Matt and their children.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. The life expectancy of a person with ALS averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis. ALS can strike anyone, and presently there is no known cause or cure.

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. 

Sincerely,

Matt Holt