Tim McDaniel

I have some unexpected and sad news about my health.  Recently, I was told I had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – ALS or Lou Gehrig disease.  It is a shock since the doctors said my symptoms were due to other issues and ruled out ALS last year.  Unfortunately this a terminal disease and I do not know my prognosis at this time.  I will be seeing an ALS specialist and his team on March 1st.

I decided to open about my progress and update you on my health and prognosis.  I want to have a purpose with my limited time here.  The photos of this page are of my lovely wife and her children Wes and Brittany and my children Drew, Elle and Charlie.  I was married in March of 2018 to Jenny and it has been a true gift of God to have her and her children in my life. Jenny has been wonderful and it is so nice to be in a relationship with someone that values love over everything else.   I feel so blessed to be the father to each of my three kids.  The relationship and time I have with each one of them is so precious and provides me with so much joy. They have been God’s greatest gift to me.   It also inspiring to get to know Wes and Brittany and see how much they have grown and overcome difficult circumstances. They are so fun to relate to.          

ALS was the scariest disease that I was afraid to get.  I can remember seeing the headlines in November 2018, about Sponge Bob creator dying of ALS.  I was too scared to read about it.  One lesson I would like my kids to learn from my life is do not avoid scary things.  I would not read about ALS or investigate if this was causing my issues because I was so afraid of it.  If I did, I could have been more insistent with the doctors that said I  did not have ALS to investigate further and could have avoided surgeries and maybe the progression would not be where it is at today.

Watching Gleason the Amazon Prime Video story about New Orleans Saints Steve Gleason battle with ALS is both inspiring and scary to me. It is amazing what Steve has done and the courage he has to stay in the fight.  But it is so scary to watch his physical decline. One reason I decided to start this page is to hold myself accountable to stay in the game and hopefully help others.  

Right now my symptoms are weakness in my legs and it is hard to stand up from a seated position and I have to walk with the aid of braces and a cane.  My voice is weak and it now is started to impact the strength in my left hand and arm.

I know my body will continue to break down but my hope is that God will provide me the ability to still relate and love all the wonderful people he has placed in my life.  My ultimate hope is that I will have a new body in Heaven based on my belief in Jesus Christ and his resurrection and becoming a Christian.  I can’t wait to have races against you in Heaven since I will have a head start in practicing!