Lee Badger, who spent his professional life in the grocery business, was a familiar figure throughout Utah with the seven locations of his Lee’s Marketplace stores, a chain he founded in 1981.
In 2008 Lee was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and he fought the fatal paralytic disease for a year until his passing in August, 2009. His death devastated his family.
Faced with his loss, his wife Shari, their son Jonathan and his wife Shelley decided to fight back. They were determined to do all they could to conquer ALS.
Supported by those who knew and loved Lee — including family members, numerous employees, and community members he befriended over the years — the family organized an annual golf tournament at the Birch Creek Golf Course in Smithfield.
The 15th annual Lee’s Cares ALS tournament was held in June at Birch Creek. Annual proceeds from the tournament support cutting-edge research at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming nonprofit Brain Chemistry Labs.
The Badger family learned last week their ongoing efforts had paid off in a significant way.
Last Friday, Brain Communication, a top-tier scientific journal, published the announcement from Brain Chemistry Labs of their discovery of a rapid and highly accurate blood test for ALS.
Chemistry Labs Director Dr. Paul Alan Cox said previously ALS patients often had to wait a year or more to receive a diagnosis.
“Because of the Badger family support through the Lee’s Cares Foundation, as well as other generous donors, we discovered a microRNA fingerprint that identifies ALS patients with 98 percent accuracy,” said Dr. Cox.
ALS experts worldwide have praised the new discovery with its potential to facilitate earlier treatments and better outcomes for ALS patients.