Fri, Sep 05, 2008
 Jim Himelic's six children,from left, Michael, Daniel, Jennifer, Jamie, James and Ana, and his widow, Diana, not pictured, are all active in the Jim Himelic Memorial Golf Classic, which funds the foundation.
Photo courtesy of Ana Himelic 2006
PARKWAY CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENTS Driver/Transportation DRIVERS Technical Dynamics Information Technology Systems Engineer Health Care VALOR HOSPICECARE ON-CALL NURSE Administrative & Professional ILX RESORTS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Production and Manufacturing QUALITY MANAGER Sales and Marketing Town and Country Foods Sales Manager Tucson RegionFunding ALS research a family affairSpecial to the Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.05.2008
Family and friendship lie at the core of the Jim Himelic Foundation, a local grass-roots non-profit dedicated to eradicating amotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The all-volunteer organization has raised almost $500,000 to funnel into research for ALS — more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease — at the University of Arizona.
In 2000, the neurodegenerative disease took the life of Jim Himelic, a former prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney's Office and a Pima County Juvenile Court judge. He was 52.
The foundation was founded soon after his death by Himelic's widow, Diana, their children — Daniel, Ana, Michael, Jennifer, James and Jamie — and a group of colleagues and friends.
"I like to think he was an extraordinary guy," said Daniel Himelic, 30, Jim's eldest son and a member of the foundation's board of directors.
"My dad approached the disease by trying to do the things he had always done. … He was someone who had ALS, but on a day-to-day basis that wasn't the first thing you thought of when you saw him.
"He had a good two years in a walker and then a wheelchair, and he kept working and doing everything he could. He never took pity on himself because he had ALS," Daniel said.
The Himelics have carried forth that determination, hoping to help other families and patients affected by the rapidly progressive, incurable disease that destroys nerve cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord responsible for voluntary muscle control.
Motor neurons lose their ability to send messages to muscles, resulting in muscle weakness and eventually paralysis of the arms, legs and body.
As many as 20,000 Americans have ALS, and an estimated 5,000 people across the country are diagnosed with the disease each year, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Jonathan Flax, director of the Jim Himelic Foundation Research Lab in the UA College of Medicine neurology department, is working to replace damaged and lost motor neurons with the untapped reservoir of neural stem cells resident in the body.
He said the foundation's goal is to provide both research and clinical care to improve longevity and quality of life.
"The ultimate goal, in my vision, is to have this so-called research going from bench to bedside, so the ideas and clinical practices developed in the laboratory will move forward into the clinic and have an important impact on ALS patients," he said.
Flax said his research also has implications for patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
He emphasized that private funding for research has become increasingly significant since federal funding through such institutions as the National Institutes of Health has been cut in recent years, resulting in reduction or termination of research at many labs across the nation.
"In the best of times, funding by private foundations provided additional and extremely important support," Flax said. "Now it is literally a life saver that is saving research from going under in many good labs. That is why what the Himelics are doing is so important."
On a personal note, Ana, 29, said the foundation gives her and her siblings a common bond and permanent link to their hometown.
"As a family, it is something that we really look forward to as we are all getting older and moving to different regions and taking different career paths," said Ana, who lives in Tucson for the time being. "It is a special cause that keeps us together and memorializes our dad."
It also provides a unique legacy to the University of Arizona, where Jim and Ana both graduated from the law school and Daniel is currently attending the medical school. Daniel said a Himelic has attended the University of Arizona "in one way, shape or form" since 1995, and the university holds a special place in their hearts.
He said he hopes eventually it will also be a special place for people and families facing the grim reality of ALS.
"If all these pieces come together, this will be a local center for research as well as clinical research where people who have this disease can be taken care of the way they are supposed to," he said.
● Contact freelance writer Loni Nannini at ninch@comcast.net.
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