Friday, March 6, 2026
Friday, March 6, 2026
Today’s post was written by Alex on February 26, the day before Andy left us …
Thank you all for reading Daddio’s blog each and every day, or at least keeping up as much as possible. My dad has the analytics turned off for this blog so we don’t actually know how many of you are out there. There are a lot of days where I have trouble opening Dad’s post because of the emotions it opens up, and I have found help in imagining every one of you readers standing beside me giving me the strength to do so.
I’m sure many of you have been asking for the last 553 days: “How can I help?”
I don’t have any answers on how to help my daddio.
One thing I know is that money attracts smart people, and smart people solve problems. I know a handful of brilliant people that I would bet would gladly work in the research sector if the pay and career opportunities matched a job in a manufacturing sector, but the differences in income are potentially an order of magnitude. And that’s just a handful of people that I know from one high school in one town in one state in one country in the world. There might even be people out there that I don’t know who are even smarter than me 😉.
The ice bucket challenge in 2014 was the single biggest fundraiser for ALS, and has set a positive future for congressional funding towards research. The “ACT for ALS” Act was passed in 2021 based on the awareness spread by the ice bucket challenge, and provided $100m in ALS research funds annually from 2023-2026.
It’s 2026 now, and the funding is at risk of being cut off. The ACT for ALS Act—which funds critical research and gives people with ALS access to experimental treatments—expires in 2026. Visit iamals.org/reauthorize-the-act-for-als/to contact your representatives and urge them to reauthorize this lifesaving legislation.
There actually is a way we can help Daddio. His dream was that no other family would ever have to face ALS. We can help fulfill his dream by taking action. Please contact your federal elected officials and urge them to support the upcoming reauthorization of the ACT for ALS!