For the Love of His Kids

I honestly can't remember a Labor Day holiday that did not include Jerry Lewis and his annual telethon to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I was born in 1964. The MDA Telethon was born two years later and Jerry Lewis has been the host and tireless advocate ever since. He's never missed a year, not even when he's been ill.

I think I started watching in the mid-70's and have seen at least some of the telethon just about each year since. I have always been struck by Jerry's dedication-- Jerry is 80 years old and he's doing this year's telethon just a couple of months after suffering a heart attack-- and true love for his "kids." That's what he affectionately calls people afflicted with any type of muscular dystrophy. As a child, I would make a donation each year just because I felt like helping. I think the first time I called in a pledge, it was for $5. Jerry and the local host in Detroit always drove home the message that every contribution helps, no matter how small or how large.

It turns out that my contributions may have helped a family member. My great-aunt, the late Ruth Cross of St. Louis, Missouri, was one of Jerry's Kids for more than 15 of her final years. I don't know the exact neuromuscular disease Aunt Ruth had, but it slowly robbed her of her vitality, rendering her immobile, unable to speak, and pretty much confined to a bed in a nursing home. God called her home last year. The last time I saw her was in 2000 and I had not seen Aunt Ruth in many years prior to that because I had not been to St. Louis much my grandparents, Nana and Grandpa, moved to Detroit to live with my father. That was in 1985, I think. Anyway, seeing Aunt Ruth in that nursing home was a sad thing for me. I remembered how active she was, working everyday at the Budweiser plant, keeping her cute little flat on Page Boulevard between Union and Kingshighway, and driving her Ford LTD. One of my last visits to St. Louis as a teenager was when I was 16 years old. Aunt Ruth let me keep the LTD while I was in town so I'd have a way to get around town. She was the best! That nursing home visit in 2000, thought sad, was good for both of us. Aunt Ruth's mind was still sharp as a tack. She was so happy to see me and was able to scribble little notes on an erasable pad to communicate. I feel blessed to have been able to see her that one last time.

I am ashamed to say that I stopped making donations to the MDA Telethon along the way, but sometimes all it takes is a little refelction to remind you of how important some things are. MDA researchers work dilligently to find a cures for neuromuscular diseases so that some day, people won't have to go through what my Aunt Ruth went through. MDA supports many programs that help muscular dystrophy patients live as normally as possible. MDA also provides temendous support to patients and their families. All of that costs a lot of money.
Thank God for Jerry Lewis and MDA.

I am blessed with a strong, healthy life; something I and so many others take for granted. That's a big mistake. I'm signing off of this post to go to the MDA Telethon site and make a contribution in the name of Ruth Cross. I encourage you to do the same, if not to MDA, to another organization that has touched you or someone close to you. We can make a difference.

Oh, Good Evening.