Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's Disease is a terminal illness that attacks a person's motor neurons, causing progressive muscle weakness, paralysis, and eventually death.  As Wendy showed, ALS cannot affect a person's faith.  Throughout her life, Wendy had an unwavering faith in God.  During her illness, Wendy's family witnessed her love for God and her faith grow ever stronger.  As her son, Louis said on the day of her death, Wendy did not believe that she was dying; rather, she believed that she was entering into eternal life.

"Death...concludes the experience of earthly life, but through death there opens for each of us, beyond time, the full and definitive life. For the community of believers, this encounter between the dying person and the source of life and love represents a gift that has a universal value, that enriches the communion of the faithful."
Pope Benedict XVI to the international congress of the Pontifical Academy for Life, "Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects", Feb. 25, 2008