Thousands Of Dollars Raised For New Canaan Resident's ALS Battle

NEW CANAAN, CT — In the two months since it was established, a GoFundMe page dedicated to New Canaan resident Chris Thalacker's battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has generated more than $85,000 toward a goal of $300,000.

"In July of 2017, I received the life altering diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease," wrote Thalacker on the page, which was posted by W. Scott Horton. "ALS is insidious, robbing its victims of the ability to walk, dress themselves, talk, swallow, and ultimately breathe. All while leaving the mind perfectly intact. Already, I’ve lost all use of my left arm and approximately 60% of my right."

Thalacker is known by the nickname, "Cheese," and is a married father with three children. He estimates his medical expenses could reach $300,000 per year to pay for ventilation, feeding tubes and in-home care.

As of May 14, more than 200 people have donated to the page, and there's also a Facebook page about Thalacker's fight.

"Additional large expenses may include moving to a new home with greater accessibility, wheelchairs, lifts, a specialized van, long-term clinical trials, aides/in-home nursing and technological devices to offset muscle paralysis. No one knows how long my fight will last, but I’m assuming I’ll battle longer than the average person, and I plan to be here for another 10+ years."

To view the GoFundMe page for Chris Thalacker, click here.

Photo of Chris Thalacker via his GoFundMe and Facebook pages

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