Project CommUNITY Women Breaking Barriers: Miss UAB Emma Terry, fighting against ALS

1 year ago 43

TO RAISE ALS AWARENESS. EMMA TERRY HAS NEVER KNOWN A TIME WHEN HER GRANDFATHER WASN’T COPING WITH ALS. EMMA’S LOVE FOR HIM PUSHES HER TO TAKE ON PROJECTS, RAISING MONEY AND AWARENESS TO DEVELOP NEW TREATMENTS FOR ALS. NOW YOU CAN’T JUST SIT IT ON YOUR HEAD LIKE ANY PAGEANT QUEEN. MS. UAB AMATEUR. SHE KNOWS EVERY DETAIL ABOUT HOW TO WEAR THE CROWN, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY SHE WEARS THE CROWN. AND THEN EACH POINTED THE CROWN STANDS FOR A PILLAR OF OUR ORGANIZATION. SO SERVICE STYLE, SCHOLARSHIP AND SUCCESS ARE EACH A PILLAR OF THE MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION. EMMA WAS CROWNED MISS UAB IN NOVEMBER OF 2020 TO. IN JUNE, SHE COMPETES FOR THE TITLE OF MISS ALABAMA. HER GRANDFATHER, STEWART’S SIMPSON, WILL BE CHEERING HER ON FROM HOME. SILENTLY. I’VE NEVER HEARD HIM SPEAK. I HAVE NEVER HEARD MY GRANDFATHER’S VOICE. AND I’M 20 YEARS OLD, SO THAT HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING ELEMENT TO OUR RELATIONSHIP, CHIP BUT IT’S JUST GIVEN ME EVEN MORE MOTIVATION TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR HIM. EMMA’S GRANDFATHER IS UNABLE TO SPEAK BECAUSE OF ALS. ALA STANDS FOR AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS. IT’S A PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE THAT ROBS PEOPLE OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE AND THEIR ABILITY TO DO THOSE BASIC DAILY TASKS THAT WE ALL TAKE FOR GRANTED. BUT EMMA SAYS ALS HAS NOT TAKEN AWAY HIS RESOLVE. AND OF COURSE, THAT DOES NOT DEFINE HIM. HE IS STILL AS STRONG AS HE EVER WAS. HE STARTED EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS BEFORE I WAS BORN AND THEN WAS DIAGNOSED A FEW YEARS AFTER I WAS BORN. THOUGH IT’S BECOME MORE DIFFICULT FOR HIM. THEY FOUND WAYS TO COMMUNICATE. HE HAS A DRY ERASE BOARD AND WILL USE IT TO WRITE. SINCE SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, EMMA HAS HELPED HER MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER CARE FOR HIM. AND NOW, AS A YOUNG WOMAN, EMMA SPEAKS OUT FOR HIM IN WAYS THAT HE AND OTHER ALS WARRIORS CANNOT. IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN PRESENT IN MY LIFE AND THAT’S WHY I’M AN ADVOCATE. THAT’S WHY I ADVOCATE FOR HIM AND THE 30,000 OTHER AMERICANS THAT HAVE ALS. THE ACCOUNTING MAJOR WHO PLANS TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND PURSUE A CAREER AS A FINANCE ATTORNEY. WELL, THE JUDGES AND EARNED HER TITLE WITH A BALLET PERFORMANCE. AMAZINGLY, SHE DIVIDES HER TIME BETWEEN BEING A FULL TIME STUDENT TO HER MS. UAB DUTIES. PREPARING FOR MISS ALABAMA AND SPENDING TIME WITH HER GRANDFATHER, WHO TURNED 85 THIS YEAR. IT’S BEEN CHALLENGING BECAUSE NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE, UNDERSTAND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A CAREGIVER AND TAKE ON THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES AT A YOUNG AGE AND IT’S IT CAN BE ISOLATING TO DEAL WITH THAT ISOLATION, SHE THOUGHT. SUPPORT FROM ONLINE GROUPS LIKE THE AL AZHAR ASSOCIATION AND I AM ALS. THROUGHOUT IT ALL, HER MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER HAVE MODELED WHAT TRUE COURAGE AND DEVOTION AND LOOK LIKE HOW STRONG THEY ARE AND HOW STRONGLY THEY’VE INFLUENCED MY LIFE. MY GRANDMOTHER, ESPECIALLY. SHE’S BEEN A CAREGIVER FOR MY GRANDFATHER FOR 20 YEARS NOW. SHE HAS BEEN WITH HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY THROUGHOUT HIS DIAGNOSIS. ON MAY 13TH, SHE WANTS YOU TO JOIN HER FOR THE DRIVE OUT ALS CRUISE IN AT THE OUTLET SHOPS OF GRAND RIVER. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT IS THE CAR YOU DRIVE EVERY DAY. YOU CAN JUST ENJOY THE CLASSIC CARS AND ANY CARS THAT SHOW UP. SO IT’S A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ALS COMMUNITY AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT I’VE DONE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IT HAS BEEN SO REWARDING TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE GENUINELY CARE ABOUT THIS CAUSE AND THE $10 ENTRY FEE AND ALL THE PROCEEDS GO TO THE ALS ASSOCIATION HELPING EMMA STOMP OUT ALICE FOR HER GRANDFATHER AND SO MANY OTHERS LIKE HIM. CARL

Miss University Alabama at Birmingham, Emma Terry, has never known a time when her grandfather wasn't coping with ALS.

Miss University Alabama at Birmingham, Emma Terry, has never known a time when her grandfather wasn't coping with ALS. Terry's love for him pushes her to take on projectsraising money and awareness to develop new treatments for ALS.She was crowned Miss UAB in November of 2022. In June, she moves on to compete for the title of Miss Alabama. Her grandfather, Stewart Simpson, will be cheering her on from home, silently. ALS robbed Terry’s grandfather of his voice.“I have never heard him speak,” said Terry. “I have never heard my grandfather's voice and I am 20 years old. So, that has been an interesting element to our relationship, but it's just given me even more motivation to be an advocate for him.”That includes learning everything she can about the disease. “ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that robs people of their independence to do those basic daily tasks that we all take for granted,” she said. ALS has not taken away her grandfather’s spirit. “Of course, that does not define him,” she explained. “He is still as strong as he ever was. He started experiencing symptoms before I was born and was diagnosed a few years after I was born.”Even though it's become more difficult for him; they have found ways to communicate.“He has a dry-erase board and we use it to write,” she said.Since she was a little girl, Terry has helped her mother and grandmother care for her grandfather. And now as a young woman, Terry speaks out for him in ways that he and other people living with ALS cannot.“It’s something that’s been present in my life,” she said. “And that is why I am an advocate. That is why I advocate for him and the 30,000 other Americans that have ALS.”Terry is an accounting major who plans to go to law school and pursue a career as a finance attorney. She wowed the judges and won her title with a ballet performance. She divides her time between being a full-time student, her Miss UAB duties, preparing for Miss Alabama, and spending time with her grandfather, who turned 85 this year.“It's been challenging because not a lot of people, especially young people understand what it's like to be a caregiver,” Terry said. “To have those types of responsibilities at a young age. It can be isolating.”To deal with that isolation, she sought support from online groups like the ALS Association and I Am ALS. Throughout it all, her mother and grandmother have modeled what courage and devotion looks like. "Just how strong they are and how strongly they've influenced my life,” she said. “My grandmother especially. She's been a caregiver for my grandfather for 20 years now, and she's been with him every step of the way throughout his diagnosis.”Terry is hoping central Alabamians will join her on May 13 at the Outlet Shops at Grand River for the Drive Out ALS Cruise In.“It doesn’t matter if it’s the car you drive every day. You can enjoy the classic cars. It is a fantastic way for us to have an impact on the ALS community," she said. "I have been doing this for several years and it has been so rewarding to see how many people genuinely care about this cause."The $10 entry fee and all proceeds go to the ALS Association.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

She was crowned Miss UAB in November of 2022. In June, she moves on to compete for the title of Miss Alabama. Her grandfather, Stewart Simpson, will be cheering her on from home, silently. ALS robbed Terry’s grandfather of his voice.

“I have never heard him speak,” said Terry. “I have never heard my grandfather's voice and I am 20 years old. So, that has been an interesting element to our relationship, but it's just given me even more motivation to be an advocate for him.”

That includes learning everything she can about the disease.

“ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that robs people of their independence to do those basic daily tasks that we all take for granted,” she said.

ALS has not taken away her grandfather’s spirit.

“Of course, that does not define him,” she explained. “He is still as strong as he ever was. He started experiencing symptoms before I was born and was diagnosed a few years after I was born.”

Even though it's become more difficult for him; they have found ways to communicate.

“He has a dry-erase board and we use it to write,” she said.

Since she was a little girl, Terry has helped her mother and grandmother care for her grandfather. And now as a young woman, Terry speaks out for him in ways that he and other people living with ALS cannot.

“It’s something that’s been present in my life,” she said. “And that is why I am an advocate. That is why I advocate for him and the 30,000 other Americans that have ALS.”

Terry is an accounting major who plans to go to law school and pursue a career as a finance attorney. She wowed the judges and won her title with a ballet performance.

She divides her time between being a full-time student, her Miss UAB duties, preparing for Miss Alabama, and spending time with her grandfather, who turned 85 this year.

“It's been challenging because not a lot of people, especially young people understand what it's like to be a caregiver,” Terry said. “To have those types of responsibilities at a young age. It can be isolating.”

To deal with that isolation, she sought support from online groups like the ALS Association and I Am ALS. Throughout it all, her mother and grandmother have modeled what courage and devotion looks like.

"Just how strong they are and how strongly they've influenced my life,” she said. “My grandmother especially. She's been a caregiver for my grandfather for 20 years now, and she's been with him every step of the way throughout his diagnosis.”

Terry is hoping central Alabamians will join her on May 13 at the Outlet Shops at Grand River for the Drive Out ALS Cruise In.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the car you drive every day. You can enjoy the classic cars. It is a fantastic way for us to have an impact on the ALS community," she said. "I have been doing this for several years and it has been so rewarding to see how many people genuinely care about this cause."

The $10 entry fee and all proceeds go to the ALS Association.

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