The SPECKtacular FUNd

Look ! Up in the Sky ! Way up in the Sky ! It looks like just a speck, but...it's actually the SPECKtacular Skydiving for ALS Challenge

Saturday August 13 2016, 9 am to 1:00 pm at Skydance Skydiving - the best Skydiving experience in Northern California!

You can jump out of a plane or make a donation to ALS TDI! You choose! Challenge your friends- the more people who jump, the cheaper it is ! And yes, you can skydive AND make a donation. 

It's fabulously fun and free to watch. Some beverages and snacks will be available, but you can bring your own ice chest and beach chairs to get up close to the landing area. Come celebrate Life with us! Cathy Speck jumped - so can you! 

Call or email Skydance ASAP to reserve your spot in the plane: 530-753- 2651 

Website is:  http://tandemskydivingschool.com/?page_id=15

SkyDance SkyDiving is at the Yolo County Airport 24390 Aviation Ave Davis, Ca 95616

Text Cathy Speck at 310-508-7401 or email speckduval@gmail.com

You don't have to attend to make a donation, but we'd love to hang out with you! DONATE today or for more info about ALS TDI go to: http://community.als.net/SPECKtacular !

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"Better Days with Cathy Speck: An ALS Documentary Benefit"

All are invited to attend "Better Days with Cathy Speck: An ALS Documentary Benefit" featuring Cathy Speck with an extended version of her inspirational, standing ovation 2014 TEDxUCDavis talk, and Nadine El Khoury, the director and producer of "Better Days: An ALS Documentary."

The benefit is Saturday January 31, 4:00 to 6:15 pm at  Davis Community Church Fellowship Hall 421"D" St  (Look for bright yellow smiley face helium balloons to enter the Hall). Doors open at 3:45 .

Tickets: Suggested Donations are the amount anyone can afford: $1 to $ 100 or more. It is highly recommended to donate and reserve seats online soon. Tickets might be available at the door, but it could sell out quickly. Go to: http://www.gofundme.com/ddbn0k  to donate, then click on  "contact" near the bottom of the page to say how many seats you need.

Speck will take the stage first and after the intermission, Nadine El Khoury, the director, producer and writer of "Better Days: An ALS Documentary" will talk about her passion and determination to create/ produce this ALS Documentary, and why she needs enough funding to complete the documentary.

While caregiving for a dear friend's ALS journey and learning more about this fatal neurodegenerative disease, Nadine El Khoury, a filmmaker from Lebanon, interviewed ALS Researchers, more people living in the USA with ALS and their families and caregivers. She  felt compelled to publicly bring ALS out of the shadows and she wanted to make a difference, not just for her friends but for anyone impacted by this fatal disease. She currently doesn't not have enough funds to complete "Better Days."

Last Spring, while she was looking for music to use in her film, she heard Cathy's voice on You Tube singing "Sweet Beyond" an original song about loss and healing, and asked if she could use it in the documentary. At that time she didn't even know that Speck had ALS, and she asked Speck to send more Duval Speck songs. 

The two met in person in Southern California a few weeks before Speck's cancer surgery, and  quickly became friends. Speck told El Khoury that she would do everything she could to help complete the film, and that is exactly what she's doing.

 Last summer Nadine released this brief interview/ trailer for "Better Days the ALS Documentary "for  YouTube:

"Cathy Speck: Don't Wait For My Funeral."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yBuNmwwhKi0b

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Thank you to everyone who supported "Die Laughing with Cathy Speck: An ALS Musical One Woman Show!"  It was a great success!

To view photos from the event, please click here!

Even before ALS started ravaging the Speck Family, Cathy's friends and acquaintances told Cathy she should write a book about her life--a life filled with love and compassion, devastation, resiliency and tons of  humor and singing. 

In February 1971, Cathy's mom Dorothy was diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease). Dorothy who mothered nine children, was only 50 years- old when the doctors finally identified the rare disease. One December 1972, less than one month after Cathy had turned thirteen, her mom died in the ICU of the Davis Community Hospital. Cathy, her extended family, friends and many people in the community were devastated. Cathy's Dad, Gene, lost the love of his life, the mother of their children, but at least Dorothy lived long enough to meet at least one grandchild, Becky.

Way back in the 1970's folks didn't talk about death, dying, mourning, grieving, nor did they, so individual familial members created their own coping skills--some of those were helpful, but some were horrific. As Cathy says: "I was not particularly funny when I was a young tomboy--I was clever and creative, but I quickly learned that if I could make other people laugh, it made me feel better . Laughter is good medicine and so is music. Just look at me now ! I'm putting on my very own one-woman comedy and musical  show to "make a difference ." 

I don't want anyone else to lose their Love-light to ALS. And even closer to my heart, I don't want anyone else in my family to live and die with ALS.  In addition to losing our mom in 1972 when she was a spunky 52-year old, her lineage contains a rare genetic mutation. Each of my siblings and nieces and nephews have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the mutation that leads to ALS if their parent has/had it.. Our brother Paul died on May 16th 2011, and he has four grandchildren and four adult children who have the 50 per cent chance of inheriting ALS. Our brother Larry died in 2008, but he had no children. 

When I  was a caregiver for brother Larry in 2008 I noticed that I had similar symptoms to his and my mom's: I had unusual fatigue, my legs felt like they were made out of solid  oak at a time when I was in great shape and had plenty of endurance.  I didn't like going to bed,  because cruel spasms taunted my feet and legs almost every night so I wrestled with myself and lost.  I felt like I couldn't breathe and that led to tormenting nightmares, and periods of horrific suffocation. When I got up in the morning my body was wracked as if I had run a marathon on our expensive mattress. During the day my head was too heavy for my neck muscles, and for the first time in my life,  heat turned me into Silly Putty.

Oh crud, I do not like sounding like a whining  complainer--that's not who I am. And besides, if you want to hear the rest of  my ALS story, my "One Woman Show," then come on over to "Die Laughing with Cathy Speck," Sunday September 15th 2013,  from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. You'll be glad you did. I promise.

Duval Speck & The Essentials CDs & T-shirts at: www.duvalspeck.com     

More of Cathy's Whirled is waiting for you to read them at: www.cathydyingasliving.com .   

Even more at: www.IpinionSyndicate.com

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