Our History
Embracing Life Through Love was founded in 2010 by Megan Durgan.
Megan was a massage therapist and was donating her time and massages to local hospice patients. It was there that she met her first ALS client – Danny. While working with Danny, Megan saw the need for more of an integrated medicine approach to ALS, and with the help Pete Delveccio, another local ALS advocate, Danny and his wife Barbara, Embracing Life Through Love was born. most of the services we had previously offered and a new direction was needed.
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A few months later, Megan and Pete met Matt and Jackie June at a Ride to Defeat ALS event. Matt wasn’t convinced about the need for 'medical massage’ so the following February, Jackie treated Matt to a medical massage for Valentine’s Day. Matt never looked back, and committed there and then to help Megan fulfill her dreams of making Embracing Life Through Love a federally recognized non-profit.
Over the course of the next two years, the main focus of Embracing Life was the integrative medicine. With the help some other local professionals, Megan was able to offer not only medical massage but Aquatic Therapy, Private Duty Care, Sound Therapy, Nutrition help, and much more.
The bigger dream was to raise enough money to build a Wellness Retreat Center where ALS patients could go to receive all the care they needed through the eyes of integrative medicine, but also to receive the community atmosphere that many ALS patients miss.
As our ALS community grew, so did our need for patient and family gatherings. We organized picnics at local parks, get-togethers and ornament exchanges at Matt and Jackie’s home, participated in local parades, and help at local festivals - all to raise awareness and support each other on this journey.
On February 14, 2014, on the 3rd anniversary of Matt’s first ever medical massage from Megan, our application to become a 501 c 3 was approved!
In 2014 we filmed Embracing June, and released the documentary at a premiere gala for all the local pALS in June of 2015.
Sadly, Matt June passed away a few months later in
October 2015. We continued to support our local ALS
community with gatherings, festivals, and parades.
In 2017, Megan felt a calling to move out of state, and ended up spreading her wings to North Carolina. With Megan gone, ELTL was no longer able to offer most of the services we had previously offered and a new direction was needed.
Check out our HOW WE HELP tab more information on who we are now!
