The award was underwritten by the Everready Battery Company. Adams is also an MDA vice president. As a result, leading researchers made progress earlier this year in narrowing the location of the gene that underlies the disease, a juvenile-onset form of ALS which seems to be compatible with a normal life span. On Oct. 5, Life magazine published an issue highlighting the Mattingly family saga. Jackson, who is 70 and a widower, has about 50 relatives affected by the disorder.
Dozens more stand a good chance of developing it.
Jackson first noticed symptoms in 1947 when he was in his late teens, although he believes there may have been earlier indications. The disease progressed at a gradual rate. He worked for Black and Decker for 40 years and retired only when he felt that the disease made it hard for him to fulfill practical functions of the job. He now lives in a retirement community, and although he was able to drive a van up until about four years ago, he can no longer bathe or feed himself or perform other personal tasks without caregiver assistance. He can write by picking out one letter at a time via a computer device.