Civic leader Doris Dunlap 'creating memories' in fight to live with ALS

Of all her many professional accomplishments, of all her many civic contributions, of all the loving nicknames given her by her children and grandchildren — perhaps the one thing that Doris Dunlap hadn’t expected to be called was “an ALS patient — a woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”

In truth, most of us would be hard pressed to remember much more than that ALS is associated with Lou Gehrig, a baseball legend of the '20s.  What it is and what it does is unfamiliar to most — but its description is sobering.

ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive and fatal neurological disease in which the nerves from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles, slowly die. The muscles get no information as to what to do. Slowly, voluntary movements from walking to grasping, speaking, eating, swallowing, and eventually breathing, all become impossible.

Though movement is lost, cognition — the brain — is fully functioning. This was apparent with another ALS-diagnosed individual, scientist Stephen Hawking. Actor David Niven, Senator Jacob Javits, musician Charlie Mingus also suffered with the disease. From diagnosis until death is, sadly, usually two to five years.

Sara Dunlap, Doris’ daughter, who is currently the Marketing and Internal Operations Manager at Syntech, a Tallahassee-based, family-owned fuel automation business, speaks lovingly of her mother’s many accomplishments and community involvement before her diagnosis.

“It’s hard to list, there were so many. She was a Personnel Officer at First Florida Bank, the Executive Administrator of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, and later its first female chairperson. She started as the Human Resources Director at the Tallahassee Democrat and went on to be its Senior Vice President and General Manager. For Knight Ridder, she led corporate-wide re-engineering projects, receiving many awards. And while doing all of that, she sat on the Boards of the Urban League, YMCA, Holy Comforter, Rotary, and the Governor’s committee on Health Care Initiatives. And she and my father raised three children!”

And retirement was equally pleasurable and busy as Doris and her husband traveled the world and spent time with their five grandchildren. But in September of 2022, Dunlap began to experience what she called, “a dropped foot.” It wasn’t cooperating when she wanted it to move.

Later, she couldn’t count on it at all and she began to fall and to “twitch.” Doctors ran tests, explored genetic backgrounds, and ruled out other diseases. Ultimately, after nearly six months since her symptoms began, the diagnosis of ALS was made.

Today, over a year since learning she had ALS, Doris Dunlap wears braces on her legs and walks with a walker. She does specific breathing exercises; works at physical therapy, and takes three new medicines. She is also depositing words into a “word bank” which can be used later when her speech abilities have left.

The ALS Foundation provides special machines with which nonverbal patients can use their eyes to identify words which are then translated into speech designed to sound like their own voices to “talk” with loved ones

An ALS patient is diagnosed every 90 minutes and another dies every 90 minutes in the U.S. There is currently no known cure. But it is to bring awareness of the signs and symptoms of ALS and the work that is being done to find a cure, that Dunlap and her family are now committed.

To that end, Doris Dunlap, now 73, her husband Doug, her three children, and an army of friends are organizing a “Laps for Dunlap” walking event at the Leon High School track at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 to benefit the ALS Florida Chapter. On Nov. 9 at the Blu Halo, Doris Dunlap herself will talk about her diagnosis at a sponsored reception from 6-9 p.m.

Sara Dunlap says, “At the end-of-the day, our hope is to raise awareness of the disease, to aide those families who currently live with ALS, and to help those in the future find successful treatments so this disease is no longer a fatal one.”

Doris Dunlap agrees, saying that for now she and her family are concentrating on “creating memories.” “I may cuss sometimes,” she laughs. “But I don’t want to waste time being sad or angry. My husband is my rock, my children are my treasures, and my five grandchildren… are perfect.”

If you go

Blu Halo Reception: 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, hors d’oeuvres                                                                        

“Laps for Dunlap”: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, Leon High School Track Field

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Civic leader Doris Dunlap 'creating memories' in fight against ALS