Being Kerry Goode’s voice

ALS has taken its toll on some beloved Alabama stars of the 80s and 90s, most recently on Kerry Goode and the recently-departed Kevin Turner. It is bittersweet that the very memories that brought us joy over the years are also moments which very likely bear some responsibility for the idiopathic injuries that resulted in their ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or “Lou Gherig’s”). Researchers have uncovered a common link in the mechanism between the two, and 4-6% of the clinical football population shows unmistakable signs of ALS, including in Turner.

Now, Kerry Goode, facing declining health, is undergoing the next step of his treatment, which includes a tracheotomy. He may lose his voice forever. But, he has a message for us, by way of WBRC’s Rick Karle:

Perhaps his final words to us all have been his thanks. Now, it’s our turn to say thank you in return for all that he and the Goode Foundation have done, for his ambassadorship to the University and for the Program. It’s time to open those wallets and share our voices...and, when he passes, to be his voice, so that his good works and memory may continue.

To arms.

You can donate online to the Goode Foundation, where 90.5% of all funds go to charitable ends, and just 9.5% is spent on fundraising, management & general overhead. Anything helps — cash or in-kind.

You can also snail mail your tax deductible gift to: Goode Foundation, P.O. Box 834 Athens, AL 35612. For more information,and for AOL users needing to copy and paste the URL, visit the Goode Foundation’s website at http://goodefoundation.org.

Thank you, and Roll Tide.

Keep fighting, Kerry