PORTLAND, Maine — Early Sunday morning, hundreds showed up to attend an annual Walk to Defeat ALS in Portland.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurological disease that affects nerve cells. Right now, there is no known cure for the disease.
That's why every year, the ALS Association hosts hundreds of fundraisers nationwide to direct money towards patient care and research into finding treatments.
"It's a really deceptively common disease. It's not something people knew a lot about before the Ice Bucket Challenge," ALS Association Manager Marina Fleites said.
The Ice Bucket Challenge took social media by storm 10 years ago, and raised countless dollars towards the cause.
"We have discovered new genes, seen advances in assistive technology, and expanded access to care services; and we're not slowing down," Paul Seaver of the ALS Association said to Sunday's crowd.
Fleites says many choose to walk the event each year to honor loved ones who passed from the disease, or to connect with others personally affected by it. Before the walk kicked off, participants were also able to pick up colored lanyards which represented how each person is tied to the cause.
"We see more and more that people are realizing there's a larger community than they thought there was," Fleites said. "This is really just a space for people to come together."
John Taylor, D.O., and his team at Maine Health's ALS Specialty Care clinic out of Brunswick was also honored by the ALS Association Sunday for their work as the only ALS clinic in Maine.
"I'm walking for all of my patients," Taylor said. "We're here to try and make this a livable disease, and that's what the clinic does. So as we're working for a cure, we want people to get the resources they need."