Elks to raise funds for Greencastle native with rapid decline ALS
The Greencastle Elks Lodge is helping out a family with local ties that recently received some devastating news.
Greencastle native Nathan Milburn was recently diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) with rapid decline. To underscore what “rapid decline” means, Nate, 42, was still working and going about his life at the beginning of November and now must be on a ventillator because his diaphragm has stopped functioning.
Nate and wife Niki, daughter of Scott and Patricia Hoover, reside in Georgia with their two sons, Miles and Maguire.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Greencastle Elks Lodge will have live music featuring Steve St. Pierre and use the night as an opportunity for the lodge and the community to help out the Milburns.
Aside from the live band and a 50/50 raffle, the lodge is also looking to raffle off some baskets that evening as another way of raising funds.
The event, set for 6-10 p.m., is open to the public and will be smoke-free.
While there is no cover charge, any funds raised by the lodge on Friday will go to support the Milburns.
Anyone interested in making a basket donation may contact Matt Helmer at 720-9505.
In addition to the music and raffles, the Hogg Wild Barbecue truck will also be at the lodge on Friday.
“This is a great family that needs our help and I know our community and members will answer the call,” Helmer said.
Following his diagnosis, Nate spent 17 days in the ICU before coming home, still needing constant care, about a week ago.
“We are bringing him home on ventilator as he can no longer breathe on his own,” Niki Milburn said in a Nov. 22 Facebook post. “We want to enjoy time together as a family. I will have to hire private nursing care, a respiratory therapist, among other medical supplies and equipment (a lot we have bought already). I will be the primary caregiver, though, with help from family.”
In a later post, Niki notes the outpouring of financial support the family has already received, some of which has already been used to buy critical pieces of equipment, such as medical supplies and even a generator in case the power goes out.
“Unfortunately, Nate’s ALS disease progressed extremely quickly, affecting his diaphragm first,” Niki explained. “Most times, ALS starts in the legs and arms and the respiratory failure comes last. So, instead of three to five years to plan for what the diagnosis held for our future, we were thrown into the deep end within weeks.”