HR 9061

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution designating May 2011 as "Amyotrophic Lateral
3	Sclerosis Awareness Month" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known
6	as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative
7	disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,
8	and
9	WHEREAS, the early symptoms of ALS include weakness of the
10	skeletal muscles, especially involving the arms and legs, and
11	difficulty swallowing, talking, and breathing, and
12	WHEREAS, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy and the
13	patient becomes a functional quadriplegic, and
14	WHEREAS, because ALS does not affect a person's mental
15	capacity, a person with ALS remains alert and aware of his or
16	her loss of motor functions and the inevitability of continued
17	deterioration and death, and
18	WHEREAS, the average survival rate for a person with ALS is
19	2 to 5 years after the diagnosis, and
20	WHEREAS, research indicates that military veterans are at
21	least twice as likely to develop ALS than those who have not
22	served in the military, and
23	WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, means of prevention, or
24	cure, and
25	WHEREAS, the designation of an "Amyotrophic Lateral
26	Sclerosis Awareness Month" will increase public awareness of the
27	circumstances of ALS patients and the terrible impact of this
28	disease on the patient, the patient's family, and the community
29	in which they live and will increase support for biomedical
30	research on ALS to find the cause or causes of ALS, understand
31	the mechanisms involved in the progression of the disease, and
32	develop effective treatment, NOW, THEREFORE,
33
34	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
35	Florida:
36
37	That May 2011 is designated as "Amyotrophic Lateral
38	Sclerosis Awareness Month" in the State of Florida.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.