Pennsylvanians With ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's Highlight $5M Research Investment

WATCH: Pennsylvanians Impacted by Neurodegenerative Disease Highlight Importance of Shapiro Administration’s $5 Million Investment to Fund Critical Research

“You can make a difference by providing much-needed funding for ALS research and supporting people with ALS. If anything, I would like the world to know that we can be relevant.” — Stephen Cronin, Pennsylvanian living with ALS

“Governor Shapiro, and the legislature in Pennsylvania, [are] showing some foresight in considering this kind of action because otherwise, many, many more Pennsylvanians are going to wind up with disabilities and not enough treatment to help them.” — Michael Dzuba, Alzheimer’s patient caregiver

April 21, 2026

Stephen Cronin, Pennsylvanian living with ALS

Stephen Cronin, Pennsylvanian living with ALS

“I was a volunteer firefighter and a state burn instructor. I was an avid runner, and I had a great career in technology. My son, Caleb, was seven. I was relevant.

“Then, on July 18, the month I was diagnosed with ALS, I became irrelevant. It sucks becoming irrelevant. You start to see your world shrinking.

“People look at you differently. They don’t know what you have. Here is the kicker — your mind does not change. I have learned how to overcome my challenges with this disease.

“Still, the world looks at me as irrelevant. I am not irrelevant. And people with ALS are not irrelevant.

“Governor Shapiro is currently focused on making Pennsylvania a center of excellence in data. In that spirit, why not make Pennsylvania the center of excellence for ALS research? You can help with finding a cure. The amount of high talent you'll attract to the state is outstanding.

“Might I suggest you look at it this way. By investing in ALS research, you are investing in Pennsylvania's future. As I said in the beginning, we have the same knowledge, skills, and abilities before we were diagnosed. We are just prisoners in our own bodies. People with ALS still want what everyone wants — to be relevant. We want to have our dignity and respect — the same as before the disease.

“You can make a difference by providing much needed funding for ALS research and supporting people with ALS. If anything, I would like the world to know that we can be relevant.”

Michael Dzuba, Alzheimer’s patient caregiver

Michael Dzuba, Alzheimer’s patient caregiver

“When my wife first began this journey, there was absolutely nothing going on in terms of treatment. And it really left us with a void of hope.

“As clinical trials have taken place, we've been able to get energized, to feel some hope, and to feel that if we can delay certain progressions in the disease, that ultimately a cure can be found now. A cure is not there now.

“But I think that the administration, Governor Shapiro, and the legislature in Pennsylvania, [are] showing some foresight in considering this kind of action because otherwise, many, many more Pennsylvanians are going to wind up with disabilities and not enough treatment to help them.”

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