Brooke Eby ’10 was rushing to get to a work conference one day in 2018 from her office at Salesforce in New York City. Out of nowhere, it seemed, the then-29-year-old struggled to walk the five blocks and keep up with colleagues.
Problems in her left foot persisted in the weeks that followed, and Eby surmised she had hurt her back or left ankle while exercising. Then other people started noticing the limp.
Eby sought medical attention, but doctors were mystified after running myriad tests. Her limp continued to get worse, no matter how much physical therapy she did.
Not until 2022, after feeling weakness in her right foot too, did she receive an official diagnosis. At age 33, just 12 years after graduating from Lehigh with a degree in business systems information, Eby learned she had ALS—amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There is no cure.