In 2017, Sandra Abrevaya and Brian Wallach had it all. She was the president of Thrive Chicago, a non-profit in her hometown aimed at bettering the lives of the city's young people, he had his dream job as an Assistant US Attorney, and together they had two beautiful little girls. Then, on the day they brought their second daughter home from the hospital, Brian went to the doctor for a nagging cough. During the appointment he shared other strange symptoms he'd been having, most notably difficulty grasping a pen. The doctor eventually said he thought Brian had ALS and as little as six months to live.  Over the next many months, Brian and Sandra, who met while working on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, realized there was a void in the ALS advocacy sector, and they could fill it. They founded I Am ALS, an organization that in just two years has propelled $83 million in federal money toward ALS research and treatments and, through its website, www.iamals.org, has given ALS patients and their families a place to go to find community, support and answers. This is a story of hope against the odds, of creating the change you want to see and of pressing on even as Brian's ALS has almost completely robbed him of his ability to speak and walk.

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