 While it's a story of one man's courage and determination to become his own advocate in the face of adversity, tonight Clayton Castle introduces us to JP Whalen, who is fighting the battle of his life. He said, I'm not going to die from it. I'm going to live with it for as long as I can. It all started with a playful afternoon with his granddaughters. I tried to do a cartwheel and my right arm gave out on me and I fell. I kind of crumbled to the grass. JP Whalen, an otherwise healthy 65-year-old Baxter resident, saw a number of doctors and specialists after what he thought was a rotator cuff issue. However, the diagnosis was far more serious. I think it was December 21st or 22nd of 2015 is when I was formally diagnosed with ALS. Amiotrophic Laterals Chlorosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurological disease that kills the neurons which control voluntary muscles. The prognosis is typically very poor. It didn't register until he said the prognosis is you have 24 to 36 months to live. The news is hard for a patient to hear as well as for the family. JP Wife's Donna has been by his side before and ever since the diagnosis. When he did it was just like somebody had socked me in the jaw. I just couldn't quite believe ALS. Awareness of the disease spread in 2014 with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised over $100 million for the ALS Association to aid in finding a cure for the disease. As for JP, he is working on becoming his own advocate, including being one of the first patients in Minnesota to receive Radhikava, a medicine used to slow the progress of the disease. I happened to run across a friend of mine who used to work at the hospital here for essential health who worked on that floor and she said they do infusions there for chemotherapy. Why can't they do the Radhikava for ALS? JP receives his Radhikava infusions at essential health where he will go in 10 days straight for infusions followed by 14 days off. Two years into the disease, however, he and Donna want to raise awareness and show that accepting the news is the hardest part. Once you come to an acceptance of what you have, what you have to face, it's a big hurdle that you've overcome. While ALS may slowly be taking his physical body, JP's spirit has never been stronger. Reporting in Brainerd and Baxter, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. And JP recently received positive news as he has shown signs of man in a barrel syndrome, a rare form of ALS that contains the disease to the arms for a long period of time before spreading to the rest of the body. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.