Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. She helped establish the Avera Neuroscience Institute’s ALS clinic in 2010. Dr. Garnaas joined Neurology Associates, Inc. in South Dakota after practicing in North Dakota for 13 years. While in North Dakota, she developed a multi-disciplinary clinic to treat ALS patients. She had close ties to The ALS Association, MN/ND Chapter and encouraged the Chapter to provide services in North Dakota. Dr. Garnaas believes that care and services for ALS patients and family members shouldn’t be determined by one’s zip code. When she moved to South Dakota, Dr. Garnaas and her nurse, Pam Michels, RN and the Avera Team worked together to establish the ALS multi-disciplinary clinic in Sioux Falls. Dr. Garnaas has been caring for patients and families affected by ALS since 1995. Her brother died from the disease in 2007. The MN/ND/SD Chapter of the ALS Association holds a Walk to Defeat ALS in Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 28th.