Several motorcyclists came together at Autumnfield near Belhaven on Tuesday evening to help make a wish come true for John R. Gregory, who is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The progressive nature of ALS causes degeneration of the motor skills in the brain, eventually leading to death.

Stacey Elks, a registered nurse and case manager for Gregory, said she was excited for Gregory when he found out he would get to ride a motorcycle again.

“Oh my, it’s awesome,” she said with a smile. “I’ve never seen a smile on his face, and it really made a difference. We didn’t focus on his sickness (Tuesday). We really just did everything we could to make him happy.”

Elks said many people have a frayed image of what hospice is all about.

“Hospice is about living, not about dying,” she said. “It’s about living life to the fullest, and we did that for him (Tuesday). I know he had a great time.”

D.J. Maxey, chaplain for Community Home Care & Hospice, spent time with Gregory and knew he liked motorcycles. So, Maxey spoke with Gregory about what Gregory wanted to do regarding motorcycles, which was to ride a motorcycle one last time.

Because Gregory has ALS, he could not drive a motorcycle or ride on the back of one, so Maxey tracked down a biker with a sidecar on his motorcycle.

“We had people calling everywhere all over the state to find a sidecar,” he said. “I was asking anyone I could think of.”

Maxey said there is a United Sidecar Association chapter in North Carolina. Maxey said the closest sidecar he could locate was in Charlotte. As luck would have it, word got around to John Toler, a motorcycle enthusiast, who has a sidecar and lives in Washington.

“I was actually thinking of selling it (the sidecar) because I never used it,” Toler said. “But for some reason, I just knew I had to keep it. And a couple days later, I received a call from D.J.”

Toler, who has been riding motorcycles since he was a youth, said he could not express how it made him feel to see the smile on Gregory’s face when he seated himself in the sidecar.

“To be able to help him like that, or anybody, is just a blessing,” Toler said. “If the Lord can use me to help him, then I’m there. I can’t describe to you what it makes me feel. Indescribable joy is what it feels like.”

Brooks Cleaton, community educator with Community Home Care & Hospice, said he has been involved with hospice care for about two years, and he is thankful for that involvement.

“Since I’ve been involved with it, I have seen and heard of stories like this — even putting people on sailboats before,” he said.

Cleaton said the hospice group helped raise funds to send a mother and her 9-year-old daughter to Walt Disney World Resort. Doing things like this make a world of difference in people’s lives, especially those in hospice care, he said.