By: Sheila Crowley
Murray County News Staffwriter
Get together your most golish outfit and join the DeJager family as they walk to bring awareness for ALS.
Sisters, Brenda Boese and Jodi Beckmann, recently walked in an ALS walk in Sioux Falls. Their Mother, Marilyn Hoffman, had been diagnosed in the past year. Brenda’s mother-in-law, Donna, also died from ALS four years ago.
According to WebMD ALS is short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive disease, which means it gets worse over time. It affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord that control your muscles. As the muscles get weaker, it gets harder to walk, talk, eat, and breathe.
As the group walked they reminisced about their trips to Sioux Falls to participate in the Zombie events. Talk continued and the group thought…why not bring the zombie event to Iona and also bring more awareness to ALS. The DeJager family have gotten together to carve pumpkins, etc. and then one year, approximately 10 years ago, they decided to watch the zombie parade in Sioux Falls. The next year they decided to be a part of the zombie parade. “It’s so much fun,” says Jodi. “And we do it together as a family.” According to her, their costumes can get goulish with blood-like colors streaming down their faces, ratting their hair. “We will some times burn leaves and then after they are cooled, roll in them and/or wipe the burnt leaves on our faces.”
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