Riders gear up to help bed-bound Suwanee man

By Shane Blatt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Craig Samples’ bedroom is a veritable shrine to red and black.

Bulldog blankets, pictures and pillows everywhere. Glass-encased footballs signed by Vince Dooley, Larry Munson and Mark Richt stack up neatly on shelves. A tiny noisemaker trumpeting Georgia’s fight song sits near his bed.

The room — though brimming with sports keepsakes, family pictures and faith-based musings — is one the Suwanee man hasn’t left in eight years.

A motorcycle benefit on Sunday could change that for the 50-year-old Samples, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

A former Gwinnett County firefighter, Samples was diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease in 1990. Two years later, he lost his ability to speak. For 14 years, he’s been on a ventilator and for the past nine, he’s been confined to his bed. The average lifespan for ALS patients is two to five years.

“It’s perseverance,” said his wife, Judy Samples, his full-time caregiver. “We’ve been married 33 years, and never one time in all of this has Craig ever complained. He never said, ‘Why me?’ ”

Before his diagnosis, Samples worked as a firefighter for a year and a half at stations in Suwanee and Buford. After he left Fire Station No. 14, fellow firefighters began organizing a benefit to help the couple cover medical and living expenses.

“In the beginning, we tried everything,” said firefighter Jim Tedder, who went to fire training with Samples. “We tried bake sales and car washes. Then out of the blue, we decided to organize a bike ride. The first ride made $400; now we’re up to 300 people and making $30,000.”

Now in its 11th year, Ride for Craig will boast a fleet of motorcycle-riding firefighters, police officers and military personnel. But the 50-mile, five-stop trek across Gwinnett is open to anyone, said Tedder, the organizer.

“It’s a good reason to get out on our Harleys,” he said.

Samples’ house is stop No. 2 on the route.

“It’s neat,” Judy Samples said. “Anybody that wants to is invited to come in and speak to Craig. Some folks are a little overwhelmed, but it’s normal for us.”

Craig Samples communicates through a device attached to his cheek. It picks up on slight muscle movements and transfers the signals to a computer screen less than 2 feet away. Those signals allow Samples to type, send e-mails and browse the Internet.

Although the ride’s proceeds pay day-to-day expenses and computer upgrades, Judy Samples said this year the funds will go toward an electric wheelchair, one her husband can navigate on his own with the facial device.

“He hasn’t been out of the room since 2001,” she said. “I would love for him to go outside and experience the sounds and the sights.”

For those suffering from similar afflictions, Craig Samples typed out this advice: “The main thing for people with any chronic illness is to have an others-centered outward focus, with a servant heart, instead of what is usually the tendency, which is a me-centered navel-gazing focus on what the disease is doing to me and what I CAN’T do.”

If you go

• What: 11th annual Ride for Craig
• When: Sunday; registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
• Where: Begins at Gwinnett Fire Station No. 20, 1801 Cruse Road, Lawrenceville; ends at Triple Play Sports Grill, 2685 Buford Highway, Buford
• More information: Call 770-217-8200 or go to www.rideforcraig.com