Evanston Woman Rasies More Than $30K For ALS In Mother's Memory

EVANSTON, IL — For Evanston resident Elizabeth Kennedy, the grief of her mother’s ALS diagnosis, and the long goodbye that followed before her death in 2021, still feels close.

Elizabeth remembers the day she learned her bright and cheery mother, whose name was Stephanie, was diagnosed with ALS in February of 2020. Her mother had been experiencing symptoms for a while before she was diagnosed, and doctors weren’t sure what they meant initially.

It wasn’t until her mom saw doctors at the Mayo Clinic that she got a definitive answer.

“My initial reaction was rather surprising; I thought, ‘Oh, thank God,’ because I thought for sure she had a brain tumor,” Elizabeth told Patch. “My mom proceeded to tell me that this is actually worse. She explained what ALS was and explained the progression and everything that she was going to go through. At that point, I was devastated.”

Kennedy said the first time she participated in the Walk for Life was right after her mother’s diagnosis in 2020, when the event was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said her mother insisted they do it, and that the experience was emotional from the start.

“I remember every single time someone donated, I would just cry,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth and her mother were very close, she said, and so watching her mother struggle was difficult.

“There were times as she was going through this that I would note last times,” Elizabeth said. “I remember my mom and I used to love to have happy hour and crack up together. Then I remember the time when she was no longer able to drink a glass of wine.”

Though the journey was hard, Elizabeth said the Evanston community went above and beyond to support her.

Shopping was another activity the pair loved to do together, but because of the pandemic, they weren't able to go out like they used to.

"I remember thinking there was a store in Evanston that my mom would absolutely love, and she had never been," Elizabeth said. "That store is Stella. So I reached out to the owner, and I said, 'My mom is immunocompromised. She cannot be in the store with anyone else. Is there any way that we could come to the store by ourselves?'"

The owner agreed to open the store an hour before regular business hours, so they could enjoy it together.

"She was such an angel. That was the last time my mom and I ever got to go shopping together," Elizabeth said.

That first walk in 2020 was the last time her mom was able to participate in the Les Turner Walk for Life, but Elizabeth, her dad and her team have walked every year since then, raising over $30,000.

“We have taken the walk as a time to really honor her memory and give back to the organization that helped her so much. After the walk, the team comes back and we do a little celebration of her life every year as well,” Elizabeth said.

To support Elizabeth and her team, visit their fundraising page.