Press Democrat: Hundreds in Napa set to ride for ALS research and celebrate 20 years of advocacy

Howard Mattfield first noticed it when playing golf. Something was up with his left hand.

He thought surely it must be something like trigger finger. So he made an appointment with his physician, got a cortisone shot and kept playing.

Six months later, he got another shot. Soon he started noticing something similar happening in his right hand.

He made another appointment. On this visit, the doctor noticed his muscles twitching.

“He said, ‘OK, are going to have to start an investigation,’” Mattfield said. “We are seeing nerve problems.”

All manner of tests and scans followed.

Then Mattfield’s doctor wanted him to come in. They asked him to bring his wife, Mandy Page.

“They wanted me to come in,” Page said. “Which should have been a hint. But for me, it wasn’t.”

“The doctor said, ‘It looks like you have ALS,’” Mattfield said.