New Communication System Is Transforming for Man with ALS Van Ballew raised more than $20,000 for the San Diego Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis Association when he completed the San Diego Marathon in January 2003. But it would be impossible to name a price for Van's optimism toward life though he has lived with ALS, also known as Lou Gerhrig's disease, for the past two years. The 53-year-old CPA and former accounting professor from DelMar, California made it to the finish line with the help of 22 relatives, friends and volunteers who took turns guiding his wheelchair along the 26-mile oceanfront course. When Van got the DynaWrite in September 2002, he knew that it wouldn't be long before his speech was permanently lost to ALS, a degenerative neurological condition. He always considered it important to tell loved ones that he cared for them and liked making people laugh. The keyboard-based, speech-generating device has given him a way to continue doing so. "It transforms my ability to function," Van said. He's finding that the rate enhancement features of the device make it easier to hold conversations and even to compose e-mails. Van is grateful for his family's patience as he types his thoughts and feelings on the device, and delivers the messages over a speakerphone during telephone conversations. The proud grandfather of four, Van also enjoys helping to raise Hannah, his five-year-old daughter from his second marriage of 20 years. Both he and his wife, Lynne, decided to scale back to a part-time work schedule when Hannah was born because they wanted to make family their top priority. Using the DynaWrite's macros feature, he created a special message for the people who mean most to him: " I love you." Van frequently corresponds with his two sisters and two brothers in Texas via e-mail. One of his brothers was diagnosed with ALS shortly after Van's diagnosis in March 2001. An uncle died from the disease more than 30 years ago. Learning to cope with the debilitating illness has been " similar to a doctoral program in learning to accept life on life's terms," said Van, who celebrated his 50th birthday by climbing Mount Whitney and once followed the Grateful Dead on tour. "I've had to adjust my passionate love of the outdoors to being content with those places that are easy to get to. I've learned that even a fiercely independent man can learn to depend on others for virtually everything. I've had to learn that giving others a chance to express compassion is worthwhile in and of itself," he said. Van's optimism is sometimes broken by the realization that ALS may take his life while his daughter is young. "She is a source of both tremendous happiness and dread. I wanted deeply to be a father who was there for her through the trials of growing up, but now that is not very likely," Van said. Still, Van lives life fully, spending time at beaches, parks, movies and the theatre. He reads, writes and meditates. And he remains a faithful advocate for ALS research and peers with the condition identified with the Yankees baseball star diagnosed with it 75 years ago. Van's family is with him all the way. "Lou Gehrig claimed to be the luckiest man on earth, but that was before my time. I feel that I have bumped him aside in that category,Van said. " The support I receive tells me that despite what we read in the newspapers, the world is filled with human kindness.""