BILLINGS — Hundreds gathered at ZooMontana for the first ever ALS walk in Billings, hoping to raise funds for research and awareness. ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is a nervous system disease that causes loss of muscle control, affecting around 18,000 Americans at any given time.
The inaugural Walk to Defeat ALS event was a dream come true for Billings woman Megan Niemeyer as she's living with ALS.
“I've been pushing for three years, so I'm really happy that it's happening," said Niemeyer at ZooMontana Sunday.
Niemeyer, 38, was diagnosed with ALS in 2022.
It was really hard, but almost, almost relieving though," Niemeyer said.
Like many other ALS patients, the experience of finding the right diagnosis was one of the toughest parts.
"It really is really common to take a year long to diagnose," said Niemeyer.
Billings Clinic houses the only ALS care center in the state.
"It's not about the quantity of life when you have this disease, it's about your quality of life," said Billings Clinic's ALS patient care coordinator and registered nurse Katie Erb.
When the position for ALS patient care coordinator opened, Erb jumped at the chance to fill the role.
"ALS is close to my heart because my grandma actually got diagnosed in 2021," Erb said.
Sunday marked the third anniversary of her grandmother's passing but it also marked the start of something new.
"Just to raise awareness for the ALS community, get funds for research and hopefully make this a curable disease one day because it's not even known what causes ALS," said Erb.
Erb hopes the walk will raise $20,000 to go towards research and funds to make ALS a livable disease by 2030.
For patients like Niemeyer, it's a step in the right direction.
"So, to finally have a walk here to help support the patients that are here hopefully is just fantastic," said Niemeyer's husband Matthew.
"We're living with ALS, not dying, you know. Living with ALS," Niemeyer said.
If you would like to donate to the cause, visit here.
