WINK News visits ALS patient after golf putt goes viral

Author: Andrew Scheinthal
Published: Updated:

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- Live on WINK News, an ALS patient sunk a golf putt from nearly 80 feet away. It was a moment that caught everyone’s attention.

Wednesday, WINK News caught up with Madeline Kennedy to see how she’s devoting the rest of her life to fighting a terrible disease.

A video of Kennedy using her golf cart to stand up and sink the putt has now gone viral.

“People I don’t know, people stop me, somebody mowing the lawn stopped and tells me what a great job it was.”

Kennedy was diagnosed with ALS three years ago.

Ever since then, she has devoted the rest of her life to finding new treatments and maybe even one day a cure.

She wears bands on her wrists and ankles that monitor her movements. That way researchers in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the ALS Therapy Development Institute can collect the data and learn more about the illness.

Kennedy believes ALS isn’t incurable, she says it’s just underfunded.

So, when videos like her golf putt gain attention, she says that means more people learn about the disease and donate.

“If I’m have success with that, with raising awareness and raising funds, that makes me very proud.”

She does her best to stay active, and while she knows her days are limited, she believes someday that will change, if not for her, for future generations.

“I don’t truly believe that a cure will come in my lifetime, and that’s always hard to say, but they’ve got to find an answer to this.”

An answer that Kennedy hopes will save lives in the years to come.

Click here if you’d like to donate to the ALS Therapy Development Institute to help fund research.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.