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SENATE MEMORIAL 4
57
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
FIRST SESSION
, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Leo Jaramillo and Antonio Maestas and Jeff Steinborn and
Michael Padilla and Craig W. Brandt
A MEMORIAL
DECLARING FEBRUARY 18, 2025 "ALS AWARENESS DAY" IN THE SENATE.
WHEREAS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, is also known
as Lou Gehrig's disease; and
WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, no means of prevention
and no cure; and
WHEREAS, ALS does not affect a patient's mental capacity,
so the patient remains alert and aware of the patient's loss of
motor functions and of the inevitable outcome of continued
deterioration and death; and
WHEREAS, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that is
characterized by degeneration of the cell bodies of the lower
motor neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horns of the
spinal cord; and
WHEREAS, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the
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patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and
WHEREAS, research indicates that military veterans have a
fifty percent greater risk of developing ALS than those who
have not served in the military; and
WHEREAS, an estimated one hundred fifty New Mexicans are
living with ALS at any given time; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, soon after his twenty-eighth birthday,
former university of New Mexico lobo and Albuquerque high
school soccer star Patrick Grange was diagnosed with ALS,
making him the youngest ALS patient in New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, despite fighting this terrible disease as hard as
he could, Pat died of ALS on April 10, 2012, which led to
several "Patrick Grange ALS Awareness Days" designated at the
state capitol; and
WHEREAS, the Grange family has supported numerous New
Mexico families affected by ALS over the past decade in
collaboration with ALS New Mexico by providing guidance and
direction when caring for a someone with ALS; and
WHEREAS, ALS New Mexico is a local nonprofit organization
that supports, on average, one hundred thirty people living
with ALS and their loved ones; and
WHEREAS, ALS New Mexico leaves no stone unturned by
navigating financial hardships through respite grants, access
to life-changing clinical care at the university of New Mexico
hospital and providing adaptive equipment free of charge; and
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WHEREAS, ALS New Mexico helps many families affected by
ALS through funding and providing direct services and capacity
support with average annual engagements of approximately one
thousand five hundred resource referrals and equipment loans,
as well as bringing awareness of ALS through educational
opportunities to New Mexico residents; and
WHEREAS, "ALS Awareness Day" will increase public
awareness of ALS patients' circumstances, acknowledge the
terrible impact the disease has, not only on the patient but
also on the patient's family and community, and recognize the
services being provided to families affected by ALS and the
research being done to eradicate this horrible disease; and
WHEREAS, we as a community join in collective support to
combat ALS and improve the quality of life for patients,
families and New Mexicans affected by ALS;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
OF NEW MEXICO that February 18, 2025 be declared "ALS Awareness
Day" in the senate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the chair of the interim legislative health and
human services committee and ALS New Mexico.
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