On Center

The Right Tools

Not long ago, David Deutsch bought a house at an auction and remodeled it himself to suit his young family’s needs. Then he transformed a ramshackle 28-foot boat. A science teacher at Northport-East Northport High School in Long Island, New York, Deutsch loves to tinker when he gets the chance. He enjoys teaching and hanging out with students just as much.

Paper “Hoops for ALS” support ALS research and send an uplifting message to David Deutsch, his wife, Dorothy, and two sons, Andrew, 4, and Ethan, 1.

But last January, Deutsch, 36, found it increasingly difficult to handle tools and lab equipment. And one day last winter, while sledding with his sons, Deutsch fell three times—“like a sack of potatoes,” he recalls. He knew something was terribly wrong.

After test results pointed to ALS, Chris Pendergast, another Northport-East Northport teacher with ALS, suggested Deutsch seek a second opinion at Johns Hopkins, where Pendergast is a patient. Well known as an advocate—his “Ride for Life” wheelchair fund-raisers have achieved great success—Pendergast has also supported the Packard Center. Deutsch took his advice.

When Center Director Jeff Rothstein confirmed the diagnosis, Deutsch was crushed. “The anguish that goes along with this news is indescribable. When I think about what my wife and boys will do without me, it tears at me,” he says.

But neither Deutsch nor his close-knit family is the defeatist type. His mother, Jeannette Deutsch Oglesby, and her husband, John T. Ogelsby II, a physician, donated seed money for The David Deutsch Fund for ALS Research at the Packard Center. “Short of a miracle, David’s help is going to come from research and medicine. And that requires lots of money,” Jeannette says.

To their delight, high school students, colleagues and their community embraced the cause. They sponsored basketball, golf, and other fund-raising events. Leading the charge was the school’s National Honor Society, a group of about 300 students, aided by Deutsch’s fellow teachers Don Strasser and David Storch.

And on June 30, students and faculty accompanied Deutsch to Baltimore, to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, to present the fruits of their labor: a check for $32,000.

Meanwhile, at Northport-East Northport High School, the “Dunk for a Dollar” campaign is lining walls with paper “hoops” featuring inspiring messages to Deutsch. “I’m so touched by it all,” he says. “It’s the best wallpapering job I’ve ever seen. And I won’t mind if it’s never finished.”

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Pat Ourand is a speech-language pathologist who’s worked with ALS patients for nearly 16 years.