Road Tripping With ALS

Accidental Advocacy, Roadie Wisdom; a reflection from Mendy Gomez.

In Mendy’s words… I came on this trip with the expectation of meeting persons impacted by ALS. However I’ve experienced something else, moments of accidental advocacy. What do I mean by this? Let me share with you to better illustrate, and this is coming from someone who recently lost her husband to ALS.

Monument Valley Utah, we arrived late and had issues with the truck, as you know. That night we met Nora and her husband, fellow travelers. In the morning I shared our Death On Wheels trip and it’s objective. We connected due to her husband having his own health issues, caregivers the both of us. Accidental advocacy!

Lakeside Brewery, Milwaukee: we finished our evening and closed down another joint. While waiting outside for Meg to show up with the RV Juan and I are greeted by a father and daughter also leaving. They offer us free beer tokens, thinking we are local. This started small talk which leads to ALS and the trip. Fifteen minutes later they depart knowing more about ALS and it’s impact on the lives of those afflicted…Accidental Advocacy!

The morning after exploring Chicago we have a craving for donuts. A quick Yelp and there’s a bakery minutes away, Schlegel’s. Meg and I peruse the goods. The young lady at the counter asks if we’re from out of town, “Yes we are”. So what brings you here, she asked.

Well…

After sharing our adventures once again another woman behind us approached us. She informed us that she lost her father to ALS. We chatted a bit, connected by our loss. To our surprise she insisted on paying for a trey of cookies we were delivering to two deserving cuties of some friends also on this ALS journey. Unexpected Accidental Advocacy.

Lastly we found ourselves in a post office mailing postcards. The folks in the lobby had noticed that huge RV in the small parking lot, lol. This led to sharing yet again. A woman approached us and introduced herself. She’s with an organization that does volunteer work and offers to help us promote our road trip and help our efforts. Can you believe that! Accidental Advocacy, you just never know, do you?

J Reyes