Originally filmed July 2010
The Story: A Chicago woman battling ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) loses the ability to speak, but finds new ways to communicate about the experience of her illness. She give “speechless speeches” via PowerPoint and launches a website and blog: “KissMyALS.com.”
Update: Anne Marie Schlekeway died December 9, 2010.
Behind the story: How do you interview someone who has lost her voice? Her story was so compelling, but would this be possible? I don’t always have the luxury of meeting a subject in person before arriving to film the story, but this time I knew it was essential. But as soon as I met Anne Marie, it was clear that she was so engaging and so good at communicating in non-verbal ways that a voiceless interview would work fine.
More Info: Just doing a Google search of Anne Marie, you can see how many lives she touched. Here is her website, and here is a nice tribute to Anne Marie, who will never be forgotten.
I am running the Rock & Roll Chicago Half Marathon for the Chicago Chapter of the ALS Foundation in her honor tomorrow. Her live lives on through the care she instilled in others.
Tom