#wegotgoals

  Thirteen years ago, when Augie Nieto learned he had the progressive neuromuscular disease ALS, he and his wife Lynne were told to put his affairs in order. Most people live only two to five years after diagnosis, as their brains lose touch with their bodies and their muscles atrophy. But Augie—who founded exercise equipment company Life Fitness in 1977—wasn’t one to simply accept his fate. First, as Lynne explains on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals, the couple “tried to find somebody that would tell us we didn’t have ALS,” she says. “We traveled the country to the ALS specialists all over and unfortunately got the same answer six more times.” Once reality set in, Augie was devastated. Lynne became his caregiver, a role that nearly overwhelmed her. But eventually, it became clear Augie just might beat the grim statistics. Over time, Augie and Lynne found balance and a new purpose: Curing the disease that threatened to kill him. Because ALS affects the muscles in his mouth and diaphragm, Augie can no lo