Who Is Your Hero?

Do you have a personal hero? Tell us about them. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Everyday Hero: Jack O.

Jack is 36 and has ALS - a fatal disease of the motor neurons which causes paralysis of the voluntary muscles of the body. When Jack was diagnosed, the neurologist told him there was nothing that he could do since there is no treatment or cure for ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease).

At that point, Jack quit his career in investment banking and launched the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation and Extra Hands for ALS. Together, they raise money to find a cure for ALS and energize the ALS community by giving high school and college students the unique opportunity to help out a person with ALS in his/her home.

Today, Extra Hands for ALS is active in Boston, Boise, St. Louis, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orange County, California with plans to spread nationally so that everyone with ALS has access to this innovative program.

Today, Jack, who cannot move his body except for his hand to work a computer mouse, works every waking minute to expand this program and continue to help others by fighting his own disease.

Story was submitted anonymously