Name: Jim Culveyhouse

Hometown, State: Merrillville, IN

Age: 54

Family:
Wife: Melanie Culveyhouse, 25 years

Hobbies/Interests:
Golf, travel, reading (especially politics and sports) and watching sporting events

Date of ALS diagnosis:
February 20, 2007

Tell us about your life before ALS:
Avid tournament golfer, was a 0 handicap. I played golf 4-5 times per week. Loved to travel with my wife. Ran the Small Business Management program at our local community college. Consulted over 600 businesses in 16 years. Loved helping people.

Tell us about your life with ALS:
I continue to play golf with help from my friends and a leg brace, once per week. Traveling is very difficult, but not impossible. Again, with help from my family and friends I am still able to travel. I am retired from my position with the college, but continue to help my clients as much as possible through e-mails and phone calls.

Tell us how ALS has brought new significance to any aspect of your life - family, attitude, hobbies/passions, career, etc.:
My wife, her family, my sister and her husband and friends have all been extremely supportive. My job now is to continue to help people and raise awareness and funding for ALS. My goal is $2 million! I am doing this with the help of family and friends through my Web site, which has connected me with people from all over the U.S. A college friend (I haven’t seen him in 34 years) and I have reconnected and he is writing a book about my life.

List your favorite quote: “As much as you give, you’ll always get twice in return.”

Do you have a “life motto” or “profound words to live by”: Be organized, use your time wisely, and enjoy life with family and friends.

Has there been an “a-ha!” moment or a specific turn of events that has helped you live with ALS?
After the normal anger, “why me” and depression, the realization of “Yes, you have ALS; now what are you going to do?” I decided to spend the rest of what life I have left to raise as much money and awareness for ALS research as I could, starting with my Web site, www.jimculveyhouse.com.

Is there anything else about you and/or ALS that you want to share with people who read your story?
Don’t give up, never give up; there are always people worse off than you. Get involved in finding a cure, and pass the message around to everyone you know so they can become more knowledgeable about this horrible, incurable little known and under-funded disease. It might not help you but it will help others and their families and friends who may be faced with this disease. Leave a legacy – that’s what life is all about.