Supporters rally for Grand Forks native with ALS

• Kottsick

Julie Kottsick, with her dog Jessie on her lap, is surrounded by friends Cindy Becker, Mary Sue Ohlhauser and Jodi Buchholz in her Fargo home.

Talk about it

What’s on your wish list? Going to Hawaii? Getting a better job? Learning to play tennis? Well, how about Julie Kottsick’s list? “I’d like to walk. I’d like to speak without slurring. I’d like to lift my arms higher than my waist,” she says.

Three letters can change a life. The ABCs can make you educated, and RBIs can make you a sports all-star. ALS, however, can rob you of life as you know it.

Julie, of Fargo, has lived with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) for eight years. A progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects about 40,000 people, ALS causes loss of voluntary muscle movement and usually means a lifespan of two years.

For 44-year-old Julie, ALS has revealed the value of a year, a month, a week, a day. And arm-in-arm, 16 angels, two children, a husband, her parents, relatives and a community walk the journey with her. One might be considered lucky to have one guardian angel; Julie has 16, who schedule themselves weekly to support what needs to be done.

Julie’s parents moved from her home town of Grand Forks to south Fargo and into the house right next to her, her husband, Bud, and two kids, Carly, 15, and Evan, 12.

“It was getting where we were driving back and forth to help, said Julie’s mother Agnes Hoversten. “All of a sudden, the house next door came about, and it was a house we could afford. ... It was divine intervention. We’ve been very fortunate and blessed.”

“It doesn’t seem right that my parents have to take care of me, when I should be taking care of them,” Julie says. “Both are in their 80s. My dad and I start every day playing cribbage. It’s been so nice to have them close by.”

After Julie’s diagnosis, so many people wanted to help but didn’t know what to do. Julie’s neurologist suggested forming a group as part of the National Share the Care volunteer program; they became Julie’s Angels, sisters in hope.

Angel Jodi

Jodi Buchholz of Fargo has known Julie for 12 years. Their paths crossed when Julie served as director of sales for the Fargo Holiday Inn and through mutual friends. Now she’s a member of the care team.

For several years, those in the care team have scheduled weekly visits with Julie. The group brings over meals, helps with projects and shopping.

In Jodi’s eyes, Julie was and still is a determined business woman and takes on leadership roles, especially in her fundraising and advocacy for ALS.

The family organized a walk and raised $40,000 for ALS, and Bud and Julie have both been in Washington, D.C., to speak to Congress and the North Dakota delegation.

Recently, Julie, along with 35 volunteers, organized the Julie Kottsick ALS Basketball Jamboree Tournament raising $14,000 for ALS. She estimates they’ve raised $300,000 for the Minnesota-North Dakota chapter of ALS.

Angel Cindy

Cindy Becker and Julie worked together at the Holiday Inn. Now she manages Julie’s Share and Care schedule.

Julie allows herself one day a month to have a “pity party,” as she calls it. The rest of the month, it is not allowed. Each “angel” has seen her on “that day” and on the days where she is full of faith, encouragement and fun.

Angel Mary Sue

Apparently angels don’t just wear halos — they also sport crowns. Beautiful, large, sparkly pageant crowns.

Mary Sue Ohlhauser of Fargo, a former Mrs. North Dakota International winner, met Julie on the pageant circuit. The women’s pageant experiences wove in and out between Bismarck, Mandan, Fargo and Minneapolis. It took them from mere acquaintances to friends.

Before Mary Sue entered the Mrs. International pageant in 2005, she had just learned of Julie’s diagnosis. Julie was supposed to enter the pageant but couldn’t. Julie permanently traded in her business pumps and pageant high heels, for sneakers.

The angels have organized raffles, dinners and auctions to help the Kottsicks remodel their home to make life easier for Julie with widened doorways, restructured rooms and a handicapped accessible van.

Mary Sue recently won an award from the Mrs. International organization for ongoing commitment to her pageant platform. She currently serves on the ALS Minnesota-North Dakota board of directors and has also lobbied congress to raise ALS awareness.

The Littlest Angels

The Kottsicks have a family mission statement: Practice gratitude, lend a hand, you can make a difference and give us all a reason for hope.

Bud and Julie never lied to the kids about ALS, but they never quite knew how to tell them what would come next because they didn’t know. Every case is different. Julie currently has logged more than 1,000 miles on her wheelchair following the kids around to activities.

The kids know how to feed her and prepare her for bed. Jessie barks when the door opens like a good dog should and sits protectively on Julie’s lap most of the day.

And walk she will, with her angels beside her.

Julie’s other angels:

Cindy Zetocha, Beth Sundet, Kathleen Wrigley, Patti Donat, Judy Kubalak, Stacey Allard, LaDonna Bannach, Heidi Vetter, Brenda Derrig, Donna Westrick, Kristi Ulrich, Jen Fisher, Betty Opheim.

Tags: gf and egf, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, lou gehrigs disease, agnes hoversten, julie kottsick, accent, health, fargo, community