There are some people who pass your way in life.
David Lloyd Jr. was one of those people.
“Our family’s life changed forever with a diagnosis of ALS for my brother, David,” Scott Lloyd was saying in 2019 about the older brother he has loved and held such admiration for all his life. “David was a normal, healthy guy in his late 40s, working hard and raising two wonderful kids. Then, out of the blue, doctors told him, ‘It’s ALS; average life expectancy is two to five years; it is incurable; and we don’t know how or where it will manifest itself as it is different for everyone.’
“They went on to tell him that the medical community knows as much about ALS today as we knew about cancer 100 years ago. That is just not OK for a disease that can impact anyone at any time, regardless of age or gender.
“We have to find a cure,” Scott Lloyd would say.
David Lloyd Jr. was diagnosed in October 2017 with motor neuron disease after experiencing what he would describe as “severe cramping” in his abdomen and a weakness in his right thumb.
“I thought I was dehydrated and had carpal tunnel,” he would say. “I figured it would get better.”
An electromyography to measure muscle response to a nerve stimulation at Duke ALS Clinic in Durham would reveal motor neuron disease.
“It’s a nerve conduction test and one of the few tests that is fairly definitive for ALS, and I had all the hallmarks,” Lloyd would say. “The diagnosis was motor neuron disease. It’s the equivalent to ALS.”
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is defined as a progressive neurodegenerative disease that strikes nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
It is a disease without a conscience.
It is mean-spirited.
It is a cruel and heartless disease.
“I was devastated,” David Lloyd Jr. would say. “There was some amount of denial. A few times, I had panic attacks. But it wasn’t long before I had an army of people praying and offering support. We got busy trying to figure out the things in life to do while I can still do them rather than sitting and waiting for the end.”
David Lloyd Jr. and his brother would create Racing for ALS in association with the ALS Therapy Development Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after they had attended a fundraiser at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, where money was being raised for a children’s camp at Victory Junction in Randleman. The camp raises money for children with serious medical problems.
The brothers always shared a passion for high-performance race cars, and now they shared a passion for finding a cure for ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease. Every dollar counts, David Lloyd Jr. believed, and it could be that one dollar that could find the cure.
He drove his 675-horsepower 2019 Camaro ZL1 1LE at Racing for ALS fundraisers.
“Scott has an identical one,” he would say. “We thrive on the camaraderie and the rivalry. My top speed is 150.4 miles an hour. But they go faster. I feel as healthy in that car as I have felt in years. I wake up some mornings and can’t raise a bottle of water to my lips. After driving that car, it’s amazing how things improve.”
The long goodbye
ALS is a cruel disease.
David Richard Lloyd Jr. died July 25 at his Cary home.
He was 52.
ALS took the life of this tall and handsome specimen of a man who grew up in this town, where he was an honor student at Terry Sanford High School and later a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with honors.
He was a gifted musician. He was an astute businessman and later worked to help health care providers deliver better care for their clients.
He was reserved, with a confidence and assurance of who he was. Truth is, he could have been a governor or a congressman. He was good to look upon, and he was genuine in his kind ways for others. If you ever knew him, you would say so, too.
I remember the day David Lloyd Jr. was born.
You knew he would become one of those special people who would pass your way in life, and someone you would come to admire.
In five short years, David Lloyd Jr. and his brother would raise $1.1 million in their Racing for ALS quest to find a cure for the disease.
Epilogue
Saturday was the farewell for David Lloyd Jr.’s long goodbye, never to be forgotten for his courage and the inspiration to others with ALS. He leaves behind a wife, a son and a daughter, and a mother and father who took such pride in calling David Lloyd Jr. their son.
And a little brother who never left his older brother’s side in this ALS journey.
“All is well,” perhaps we can hear God’s words in our moments of silence and reflection. “He fought the good fight. I’ll take it from here. All is well. All is well with his soul.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
