A family's fight against ALS

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The pictures on the wall of Josh Thompson's oceanfront home tell the story of a man who has it all: a rich, good looking, strong surfer with a beautiful bride.

Thompson was destined to take on his father's hotel and restaurant empire in Virginia Beach, but just two weeks after his son Wyatt was born in April 2006, his picture perfect life came crashing down.

Thompson was diagnosed with ALS.

Josh's mother, Kathy, couldn't even say ALS the first year, but when her son lost his ability to speak she became his voice. "The eyes are definitely the windows to his soul and he lets us know what he wants and he's very, very expressive," she said.

When Josh expressed a desire to try a drug called Iplex, Kathy immediately went after it, but the FDA got in the way. Iplex had been developed for a different condition and was banned from the US because of a patent dispute. As months passed, Josh continued to deteriorate.

"We say what will you do if you're able to get better and he says his dreams are just to be able to hold his sons," Kathy told WAVY.com

Josh and his wife had a second son eight months ago. The family says Jordan is a blessing.

In March, however, the FDA released Iplex for study on ALS patients. Josh is not in the trial but was given the drug. Unfortunately he's taking it while in the hospital. He recently caught pneumonia and has been tied to a ventilator since Easter.

Kathy says it's hard to know if Iplex is helping, but before the pneumonia they noticed some subtle changes. "Josh has a really big smile with large dimples and his facial muscles had weakened to the point he had a very weak smile, his smile was back he had dimples," she said.

More recent pictures tell the story of man who doesn't have long to live but is content when surrounded by his family and friends. For Thompson, that is the perfect way to spend whatever time he has left.

The ALS association is serving 267 people in Virginia right now. They say most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70 and Veterans have a 60% greater chance of developing ALS than non-veterans.

For more information on ALS or how you can make a donation for research click on the link to ALS Foundation www.alsa.org/.