Stephanie Likens, Gate City, Virginia
Planning a wedding can be a joyful yet stressful event. The bride and groom must make multiple decisions often involving attire, flowers, food and location. Imagine preparing for this milestone after being diagnosed with a deadly disease. Stefanie Likens and her fiancé Jeremy Altizer have done just that. They continued to make arrangements for their May nuptials, even though Likens was diagnosed with ALS in September 2011.
Stefanie with her fiancee, Jerry Altizer
The ALS Association’s DC/MD/VA Chapter is honoring the couple in May during ALS Awareness Month for the annual “ALS Across America” campaign.
“Stefanie is very realistic about her prognosis but isn’t going to stop living because of it,” said chapter Executive Director Ronnie Gunnerson. “It’s difficult to describe in a few words exactly how it is that Stefanie inspires us but, what we can tell you is that every time we see her, she smiles. She always has a genuine concern for others despite all that she is going through.”
Likens has always had a sense of empathy for others fighting battles. Prior to her ALS diagnosis last year, Likens, 25, worked in the healthcare industry as a personal care aid in assisted living facilities with people fighting mental illness and the physically handicapped. She holds two associate degrees and worked as an emergency medical technician for five years.
Both Likens and Altizer, who is a foreman in the coal mining industry, utilize the chapter for information and resources in coping with the disease. In addition, Likens attends a multidisciplinary ALS clinic at the University of Kentucky.
The couple plans to continue to spread ALS awareness on a local level during May. “Stefanie is interested in doing anything that will put a face to ALS and is extremely honored that we find her story inspirational,” Gunnerson said.
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