The story behind my "Words and Music": my father, ALS, and trying to give back

Not a lot of people are aware of my experience with ALS, or more commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease", a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects over 5,600 new people and their families annually. My father was diagnosed with ALS when I was 10 years old and it quickly adjusted my lifestyle for the remainder of my adolescence.

The disease deteriorates the nerves, eventually atrophying the muscles, and forcing immobility. The most horrifying part is that the mind stays completely healthy...so while the body is wasting away, unable to move or to speak, the mind is still thinking as much, if not more, than it ever had. For over 6 years, I assisted my mom and my sister in caring for my dad as his body weakened and declined before our eyes. While my friends were out at football games or going to movies, I was on a pretty tight departure and arrival curfew but not for normal reasons of a teenager - I was back home around 10pm to help my mother put my dad to bed. Or to feed him and take him to the bathroom and provide help that no one really understood. His friends slowly disappeared (although new ones appeared that we never saw coming and will always be extremely grateful for) along with his ability to communicate.

Anytime I tell my story of my father and the disease that ultimately took him, I always have to interject and let it be known that my mother, who is easily the strongest and most able person I'll ever meet, did an AMAZING job of making sure I had as much of a normal childhood as possible. As we became more experienced with the situation, she assumed the duties all by herself so that I could hang out with my friends of a Saturday night or go to karate class a few nights a week. So there are small slivers of normalcy but they are rare.

So why am I telling you this? No, it's not to completely depress you around the holidays or give you one more thing to fear. But you must be aware and remember that such a horrible disease exists and it discriminates against NO ONE. There is no known cause or cure and the world needs all the help it can get to battle against it.

I am telling you this because I recently had an opportunity to assist in the best way that I know how and included my song "Home Free" on a compilation CD called "Words & Music Nashville". If you've seen "Home Free" live before, you may have heard me talk about how it was written as a tribute to my father, who, while in the Air Force for 22 years, flew F-4's in Vietnam and was an extremely proud veteran. So as further tribute towards curing his disease, I have included "Home Free" and will be donating 100% of my proceeds from this album to the ALS Association. The ALS Association is just one of the organizations that is doing everything possible to fight for a cure and to assist the people and families of those that are afflicted with ALS.

So please do what you can, if you can. To find out more about "Words & Music Nashville" and get a few copies, as well as discover all the incredible artists and talent that are included on the project, go to AdroitRecords.com. Not only do you get some of the most amazingly unforgettable music from Nashville but you also contribute to a cause that's extremely close and personal to me. And I am grateful! Thank you for reading this and, as always, for listening...

Mason

www.MasonDouglasMusic.com
masondouglasmusic.blogspot.com