Utah County Sheriff’s deputy diagnosed with ALS — here’s how you can help

UTAH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — The community has the opportunity to help a 32-year-old Utah County Sheriff’s Deputy who has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a fatal motor neuron disease.

The Utah State Fraternal Order of Police has started a “Help a Hero” campaign for Deputy Hayden Liddiard’s family to help cover medical costs and family expenses. Help a Hero works very similarly to sites like GoFundMe, Help a Hero is geared more to first responders.

According to the FOP, Liddiard has been a law enforcement officer for 11 years. Liddiard’s dad, brother, and brother-in-law have served in similar capacities.

“Deputy Liddiard was recently given the devastating diagnosis of ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The typical life expectancy of this horrible terminal disease is 2-5 years,” the Utah FOP said online.

The FOP stated that doctors suspect the symptoms he has experienced have been present for roughly the last two years.

“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal type of motor neuron disease,” Johns Hopkins Medicine says online. “It causes progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. It’s often called Lou Gehrig’s disease after a famous baseball player who died from the disease.”

ALS has no known cure.

Johns Hopkins notes symptoms of the disease include:

• Twitching and cramping of muscles, especially those in the hands and feet.
• Loss of motor control in the hands and arms.
• Trouble using arms and legs.
• Tripping and falling.
• Dropping things.
• Lasting severe tiredness (fatigue).
• Uncontrollable periods of laughing or crying.
• Slurred or thick speech and trouble projecting the voice.

As the disease progresses, those with ALS can experience trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, and paralysis.

“At the young age of 32, [the family is] completely, shocked, devastated, and heartbroken, not only by the terminal diagnosis for himself but the uncertainty for his wife and three young daughters,” the FOP stated online. “When faced with a diagnosis that doesn’t leave hope, the only thing that is left is looking for love and support to help their family through such a tragedy.”

You can help the family by donating to the “Help a Hero” campaign started by the Utah FOP .

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