Sunday night starts the annual Labor Day Jerry Lewis Telethon to benefit the Muscular Distrophy Association. One of the diseases the MDA treats is ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Sunday morning, people got together in Mineral Ridge to raise money for ALS Research.
Ralph Leone was diagnosed with ALS in 2005. ALS is a disease that breaks down muscles in the human body, all while the person's mind remains intact. Ralph is a resident at the Briarfield at the Ridge Healthcare Center. The people there decided to work with the MDA, and hold a fundraiser to benefit ALS Research, naming it "Spirit of the Lion". Ralph's last name, Leone, stands for lion. "A stride and ride, it's called. And all the money raised today would be earmarked for a cure, go towards research for a cure for ALS," explains Mauree McCarty with Briarfield at the Ridge Healthcare Center.
A very special guest came to meet Ralph at the fundraiser. The Middleweight Champion of the World, Kelly Pavlik signed a boxing glove for Ralph, telling him to keep punching. "You're definitely, as the glove says, going to keep punching. You're going to get through that, but not only that you're a lion, and lions attack and they keep fighting," Pavlik said.
Ralph's spirit hasn't declined. He keeps a positive outlook despite his physical problems. "These have been the best years of my life. It's gotten me and my family much closer. I've met so many good people."
