• “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”
  
  - Mark Twain

Posted: November 24th, 2014

Victories over bureaucracies are rare, but this year as we enter Thanksgiving week we can celebrate one such event.  Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that they had rescinded their Speech Generating Device “coverage reminder.”  This ill conceived effort at cost containment would have removed reimbursement for all but the least useful devices for ALS patients.  A special thanks has to go to Steve Gleason and his Team Gleason foundation for sounding the alarm and leading the groundswell of public indignation that created this reversal.  A tremendous thanks and job well done also goes to each individual who made an effort to contact legislators and Medicare to oppose the changes which would have had a negative impact on the ALS community as a whole.  It’s nice to know that sometimes common sense and hard work can actually come out on top.

While we’re talking about the “fight in the dog,” I would like to take this opportunity to again point out and thank Pete Frates for pushing the Ice Bucket Challenge to staggering heights in raising awareness and money for ALS research and patient services.  And now, just in time for the holidays, Topps, the famous baseball card company, is offering a limited edition series of Pete Frates #IceBucketChallenge baseball cards.  How cool is that?  Compassionate Cares ALS has been designated by Pete to be the recipient of the funds generated from the sale of these cards.  Please, I encourage everyone who reads this post to visit www.Topps.com and purchase individual cards or the entire set (search “Frates” in the top right corner of the page).  Aside from contributing to a great organization and cause, who among us (over a certain age) does not wish they still had those Topps cards we collected when we were young?  These will make wonderful gifts for the holidays.

Steve Gleason and Pete Frates share more than being stricken with ALS.  They share an indomitable spirit and fight, and no one ever proved Mr. Twain’s saying to be truer.