Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Arnold Schwarzenegger,Joe ManganielloandSofia Vergarateamed up this weekend to gift asurprise donation to a Los Angeles firefighterwho was diagnosed with a devastating and life-threatening disease just a month after his wedding.
The trio was in Santa Monica on Saturday to watch professional weightlifters compete at theArnold Strongman USA competition. The annual contest serves as a fundraiser for the Santa Monica Firefighters Relief Fund,CalFire Benevolent Foundationand theVentura County Widows and Orphans Fund.
In a special moment during the event, organizers brought out 30-year-old firefighter Eric Stevens, who was diagnosed in August with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a deadly neurological that slowly takes away a person’s ability to control their muscles.
Stevens — a formercaptain of the University of California, Berkeley football teamand player for the St. Louis Rams — received the heartbreaking news just weeks after he married his longtime sweetheart, Amanda Stevens.
After the unexpected announcement, Schwarzenegger, 72, stepped in to say he was matching the $10,000 donation. But theTerminatorstar’s announcement wouldn’t be the last surprise of the night.
Manganiello, 43, then said that he and Vergara, 47, were matching the contribution, too — and with that announcement, the couple raised a whopping $30,000 toward their efforts in a single day.
“We are so incredibly thankful for the amazing support today! It’s important for us to raise awareness and educate people as there are many families like us suffering due to this disease,” the couple wrote on theirTeam Stevens NationInstagram page after the event. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
Los Angeles Fire Department
The disease typically claims the lives of those who are diagnosed with it within three to five years.
“You’re racing against time every day, you’re just slowly deteriorating,” Stevens toldKTLAin November. “The multiple doctors that we’ve seen, they’re sitting there telling you all these great things that are coming, but they’re stuck in these trials.”
The family started aGoFundMe pagein October that has so far raised more than $765,000. They said it will be used to pay for medical costs and to raise awareness of the disease.
source: people.com
