Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday October 17, 1997
KU student starts his drive for ALS cure at auction
By Monica Hodes Special to the Kansan
Imagine that for six years, you saw your father's health and physical capabilities decline. You had to help him bathe, eat and use the bathroom. You saw him die from complications of ALS.
This scenario is not imaginary for Chris Rahimian, Overland Park freshman. He lives with the possibility of developing ALS, better known as Lou Gerhig's disease. The disease deteriorates the neuromuscular system, preventing the brain from receiving nerve signals.
You have a 50 percent chance of dying the same way.
Rahimian has used his personal connection with the disease as a tool to promote ALS awareness and research.
His work began with an act of kindness that unexpectedly generated world and national media coverage.
After his father's death in 1994, Rahimian's family donated its hand-capped-accessible van to the Kansas City Cancer Society for a car auction. At the auction, Rahimian, 16 years old at the time, looked for a car of his own with $1,500 he had saved. He also met Mary Hendricks, a woman with ALS, who was planning to buy his father's van.
The bidding on the van started at $2,000, the highest price Hendricks could pay. Rahimian said a group of men behind him during the bidding was talking about using the van to haul motors and wood.
"I think about it now, even though I'm too young to get it, and it scares me," Rahimian said. "I think about it every day."
"The van was still a part of us, like
my dad was still living in it," he said, "I didn't like the thought of people putting their motors in it and trashing it."
Rahimian decided to pool his $1,500 and another $200 his mother chipped in with Hendricks' money to help her buy the van.
After the auction, his family flew to New York to be with relatives. While Rahimian was in New York, the Kansas City media heard about what he did at the auction.
The word spread to New York, and soon reporters and cameras surrounded the house where Rahimian was staying. The story went nationwide—even worldwide.
"I never thought it would get that much attention," he said.
Rahimian's story made the national news on CBS, CNN, NBC and The Associated Press. Reporters from Russia and China called him.
He also appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Geraldo and NBC news alongside Tom Brokaw. He was featured in "People" magazine and honored by Bob Dole and Joan Finney.
Rahmian's story led to his being a guest speaker at numerous ALS benefits, other charity events and schools.
"It was just a matter of showing up and doing it," he said. "I had a great time."
Rahimian said the reason for his involvement was that he wanted people with ALS and those with a chance of getting it to have hope for a cure.
"If I don't raise enough money, there won't be a cure. I don't want my kids or anyone's kids to have to see their dad like I did," said Rahimian, who has a 50 percent chance of developing the disease.
His father started showing signs of
"If I don't raise enough money, there won't be a cure. I don't want my kids or anyone's kids to have to see their dad like I did."
Chris Rahimian
Overland Park freshman
ALS when Rahimian was in fifth grade. It affected his upper body first; his father began to drop things and he had a few car accidents.
"We didn't think much about it at the time, but we found out later, after he was tested, that those were indications." Rahimian said.
His father's condition changed his family's way of life, Rahimian said. He, his sister and his mother worked in shifts taking care of his father. His mother quit her job so that she could be at home. She also started a day-care business in their home to help with expenses.
"She didn't have a choice," Rahimian said. "It's the other half that has to take care of you."
Rahimian has helped raise $1.5 million for ALS. He plans to continue his involvement through his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, which sponsors a basketball tournament to benefit ALS research.
Anyone interested in donating time or money to fight ALS can contact Beckie Cooper at the Keith Worthington Chapter in Kansas City at (913) 648-2062.
Chris Rahimian, Overland Park freshman, displays a picture of his father, who died from complications of ALS in 1994. Rahimian promotes ALS awareness and research. When he was 16, Rahimian was featured in the media for helping a woman with ALS buy his family's handicapped-accessible van. Photo by Roger Nomer' KANSAN
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