Getting sick in the recession: Celebs pitch in to help woman with Lou Gehrig's disease

Lorie Sandoval, 53, is a middle-class wife and mother who had the misfortune of getting seriously sick in the midst of the Great Recession. Her diagnosis: ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- Lou Gehrig's disease) is tough enough, but the financial toll it has taken on the Sandoval family's finances is just as severe.

It didn't matter that Lorie had insurance through a Kaiser HMO plan. Deductibles, and uncovered tests and treatments, combined with missed time in the family business have put the family on a financial precipice. As a result, the Sandovals are grappling with greatly reduced income, unpaid bills, the potential loss of their home and no money to get Lorie quality-of-life things like a van with a lift or a hospital bed with side rails so she won't fall in the night.