God, friends, and family helping Yellowknife man confront ALS

In November last year, Andrew Debogorski had just finished his fourth year of a heavy duty mechanic apprenticeship.

A week into his first job as a journeyman in Yellowknife, the 31-year-old's hands started feeling different.

"When I really noticed it is when I went to grab a bottle of lens cleaner to clean off my safety glasses and I couldn't push the plunger down. I had to use two hands. It was alarming," he says.

By March, neurologists in Edmonton told him there was a chance he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that in most cases has a life expectancy of between two and five years.

"You could see it in their body language and tone that [the doctors] thought I had it," Debogorski said.

He decided to let them do the test to find out for sure.

"I said OK, let's do this. I thought, we'll tackle this."

Long wait in limbo

Debogorski says he had to wait more than two months for the test, and only got an appointment after calling his MLA to complain.

Over that period of time, he lost the ability to write, began slurring his speech, and also started walking with a cane.

"It was so hard not knowing for sure what was happening. I'm waiting, waiting for this phone call," he said.

He tried to keep his condition private, only telling a select few people. That was until one friend started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money — something Debogorski wasn't initially happy about.

"But it ended up being the best thing because he put it out in the open and I didn't have to hide it anymore."

Experimental treatment and wild meat

Debogorski received the official diagnosis on June 8.

Once his health condition was public, more than financial support started coming in.

"One diet suggested I should eat only wild meat. I put it out to a couple friends, and all of a sudden we are getting caribou and char, bear and goose," Debogorski said.

"God helps me, and I have a spiritual background, and that goodness you see in people, you can feel it, a radiating glow in a situation like this."

Debogorski says doctors tell him there's nothing to stop or reverse the progress of ALS, so his family has been looking at experimental clinical trials.

"My sister found one in California and they don't accept people out of country, but she's like a little wolverine," he said.

"She contacted all the researchers leaving messages and I don't know if it's a promise, but they said I may be looked at for an in-person assessment."

'What's the point of living a long miserable life?'

Debogorski says if he's chosen, any money raised will go to relocating his family for up to a year.

His only other source of income is his disability cheque and that's not enough.

"I can't be a mechanic anymore and I'm a hard worker and I appreciate work," he said.

"It's ironic my journeyman career lasted only one week."

Despite the seriousness of his condition, Debogorski still finds the strength to crack jokes.

"You have heard the age-old adage, what's the point of living a long miserable life? I might be gone five years from now, and that's a possibility, so why would I be sad?" he asks while choking back tears.  

"When you are faced with a big, massive challenge like this, the regular stresses that all of us go through, it's easier to slough off."