March 12, 2010
MILWAUKEE -- In a UW laboratory, cutting edge research is underway using stem cells that become skin samples, and might one day lead to cures for diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Meanwhile, in a Milwaukee hotel, preparation is underway for a benefit to raise money for that research. But sadly, there is a void in both places, because they've lost their driving force.
Jeff Kaufman battled ALS for more than two decades. Though he lost all movement, and could communicate with his wife Jan using only his eyes and a sign board, he helped lead fundraising efforts for the stem cell research project that now bears his name.
?Breaks my heart when someone gets diagnosed, he says, so I get very excited about the research,? said his wife Jan Kaufman, interpreting for Jeff.
That was last May. Working from his bed, Kaufman was still active in fundraising, and about to donate some of his own skin cells for the new research.
But this week, Jeff Kaufman lost his long battle with ALS, just days before the annual Evening of Hope, a fundraising event he founded 17 years ago.
?His spirit lives on with this event, and we will continue fighting until there is a cure found, and I really believe that's what Jeff would want,? said Melanie Roach-Bekos, Executive Director for the Wisconsin Chapter of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.
The event has raised nearly $2 million for research over the years, and now Kaufman's friends say they're more committed than ever to carrying on.
?For the past 20 years, that has been what he's been all about, and that doesn't change, that doesn't change a bit,? said Pat Brennan, a friend of Kaufman.
And although the Evening of Hope has lost its founder, his family and friends know Jeff Kaufman never lost hope.
"He just has this determination to keep fighting, and to keep funding research,? said Jan Kaufman. ?He'll always say, 'Ya know, it may not help me, but it will help someone.'"
So the event will go on as planned, but more importantly, so will the research and work that Jeff supported for so many years. Even in his absence, he will continue to have a significant impact on the lives of many others for a long time to come.
MILWAUKEE -- In a UW laboratory, cutting edge research is underway using stem cells that become skin samples, and might one day lead to cures for diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Meanwhile, in a Milwaukee hotel, preparation is underway for a benefit to raise money for that research. But sadly, there is a void in both places, because they've lost their driving force.
Jeff Kaufman battled ALS for more than two decades. Though he lost all movement, and could communicate with his wife Jan using only his eyes and a sign board, he helped lead fundraising efforts for the stem cell research project that now bears his name.
?Breaks my heart when someone gets diagnosed, he says, so I get very excited about the research,? said his wife Jan Kaufman, interpreting for Jeff.
That was last May. Working from his bed, Kaufman was still active in fundraising, and about to donate some of his own skin cells for the new research.
But this week, Jeff Kaufman lost his long battle with ALS, just days before the annual Evening of Hope, a fundraising event he founded 17 years ago.
?His spirit lives on with this event, and we will continue fighting until there is a cure found, and I really believe that's what Jeff would want,? said Melanie Roach-Bekos, Executive Director for the Wisconsin Chapter of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.
The event has raised nearly $2 million for research over the years, and now Kaufman's friends say they're more committed than ever to carrying on.
?For the past 20 years, that has been what he's been all about, and that doesn't change, that doesn't change a bit,? said Pat Brennan, a friend of Kaufman.
And although the Evening of Hope has lost its founder, his family and friends know Jeff Kaufman never lost hope.
"He just has this determination to keep fighting, and to keep funding research,? said Jan Kaufman. ?He'll always say, 'Ya know, it may not help me, but it will help someone.'"
So the event will go on as planned, but more importantly, so will the research and work that Jeff supported for so many years. Even in his absence, he will continue to have a significant impact on the lives of many others for a long time to come.