Sandra Bullock’s partner Bryan Randall’s death has sparked a 500 per cent increase in donations to the ALS (known as MND in the UK) Association.
The photographer died on Saturday aged 57 after a secret three-year ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) battle.
After the family asked for people to donate to the ALS Association instead of sending or buying flowers.
Sandra’s sister Gesine wrote in an Instagram post: ‘In lieu of flowers, please donate to ALS Association and Massachusetts General Hospital (links in bio).’
The ALS Association told TMZ that now donations were up 500 per cent over the same time last year in a funding spike.
They told the publication: ‘We’re grateful for the amazing outpouring of support in honor of Bryan.’
Good cause: Sandra Bullock’s partner Bryan Randall’s death has sparked a 500 per cent increase in donations to the ALS Association
Kind: After his death the family asked for people to donate to the ALS Association instead of sending or buying flowers (Sandra is pictured)
‘The money pouring in will help our urgent work to make ALS a livable disease through local care, national advocacy, and global ALS research.’
Sandra called her partner Bryan ‘very patient,’ ‘a saint’ and ‘evolved on a level that is not human’ in a 2021 interview amid his secret ALS battle that led to his tragic passing on Saturday.
The 59-year-old actress spoke about Randall, a photographer, in a 2021 edition of Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
‘He’s the example that I would want my children to have,’ the Oscar-winning star said of Randall, who died after battling the disease for three years privately.
In the exchange, Bullock also said that she didn’t feel the need to exchange vows with Randall amid their committed relationship.
‘I am someone who went through the divorce process,’ Bullock said. ‘I found the love of my life. We share two beautiful children – three children, his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever.
‘So, I don’t want to say do it like I do it, but I don’t need a paper to be a devoted partner or a devoted mother.’
Bullock, who was previously wed to Jesse James from 2005-2010, said she didn’t ‘need to be told to be ever-present in the hardest of times’ or ‘to weather a storm with a good man.’.
Sad: The photographer died on Saturday aged 57 after a secret three-year ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) battle
Thoughtful: Sandra’s sister Gesine said in an Instagram post that in lieu of flowers people could donate to the ALS Association
Family time: Bullock has two adopted children — son Louis, 13, and daughter Laila, 11 — and Bryan has an adult daughter named Skylar from a previous relationship (seen in 2018)
The Speed actress spoke about the relationship dynamics she shared with Randall, a one-time model, and the example he set for her two children – son Louis, 13, and daughter Laila, 10. Randall was also father to daughter Skylar Staten, 29, from a past relationship.
‘There’s two very different ways of looking at things,’ Bullock said. ‘And I don’t always agree with him. He doesn’t always agree with me.
‘But he is an example even when I don’t agree with him that I go, “If they can take away from that, and if that is where they feel drawn to, then he’s the exact right parent.”‘
The Bird Box actress attested to Randall’s faith in the chat, saying, ‘I have a partner who’s very Christian.’
The Blind Side star and Bryan initially crossed paths in 2015 when he was on hand to take pictures for her son’s birthday celebration.
They were last seen publicly in July of 2020 in Studio City, California while out with her two kids.
In the Red Table Talk outing, she said that Randall was a positive presence for her as a parent, though he was not involved in the adoption process.
‘I had Louis first,’ she said. ‘And then when I met Randall, and I was like, and we hadn’t been together that long.’
She continued: ‘I go, “You remember that NDA you signed when you photographed my son?” He was like, “Yeah.” He’s still scared. His whole life had been unraveled because of me.
‘And I said, “You know, that still holds.” And he was like, “Yeah, OK, OK, OK, why?” And I was like, “Cause I’m bringing a child home when I come back from Toronto.” And he was like, “Sorry, what?”‘
Bullock said that her partner was simultaneously ‘so happy, but … scared’ at the development.
Randall’s family issued a statement to People confirming his death, saying, ‘It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS.
‘Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request.’
The statement continued: ‘We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.
‘At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan.’
Before her relationship with Randall, Bullock was in a high-profile romance with Monster Garage host Jesse James.
They met after she brought her motorcycle-obsessed godson on a trip to West Coast Choppers’s Long Beach headquarters in 2003.
The pair ultimately wed in 2005, in front of 270 of their closest friends and family at a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Talent: Randall began his career as a model before becoming a photographer
Throwback: Randall in an early shoot from his fashion days, before he stepped behind the camera
In March 2010, days after she took home an Academy Award for her performance in The Blind Side, several women came forward about their affairs with Jesse.
A month later, Jesse checked himself into a rehab facility in Arizona for sex addiction after apologizing profusely to Bullock, although that wasn’t enough to save the marriage – they divorced the following June.
In 2017, he told DailyMail.com: ‘Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah… I stood up and took accountability for it and apologised. And that’s [the] end of story.’
Bullock other exes include Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, Bob Schneider, Matthew McConaughey, Don Padilla, Troy Aikman and Tate Donovan.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Details of fatal disease there is no cure for
What is it?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurogenerative disorder which impacts the nerve cells in the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It gets progressively worse and causes significant muscle control loss in people who have it.
Treatment
There is no cure for ALS and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients.
Symptoms
The first signs of ALS are twitching of the muscles, weaknesses of the limbs and problems with swallowing and speaking. Progressively, it deteriorates muscle control and impacts an individual’s ability to breathe, move, speak and eat.
ALS symptoms correspond with where nerve cells deteriorate in each person, and could lead to issues walking, tripping, and weakness of the knees, ankles and hands.
It can also lead to problems with muscle cramps and twitching in areas including one’s tongue, arms and shoulders. People with ALS have experienced untimely spells of laughter, tears and yawns, as well as changes to one’s thinking process or behavior, according to the clinic.
Risk factors
Among the risk factors researchers have established for ALS include genetics, as about 10 percent of people diagnosed with it were passed down a gene from a relative, which is called hereditary ALS, according to the clinic. Kids of people who have hereditary ALS have a 50 percent chance of having the gene.
Age is also a factor as the risk of getting the disease trends up toward the age of 75, with the most common range of people who have it between 60 and 85. In terms of gender, men are diagnosed with a higher rate of ALS prior to the age of 65, according to the clinic.
Other factors that have been linked to ALS include smoking and exposure to toxic substances. The clinic reported that military personnel have been diagnosed with ALS at a higher rate.
Causes
There is no known cause of ALS, according to the Mayo Clinic, and heredity plays a factor in a small number of cases.
Lou Gehrig was one of baseball’s preeminent stars while playing for the Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Known as ‘The Iron Horse,’ he played in 2,130 consecutive games before ALS forced him to retire. The record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
As well as being known as ALS, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Lou Gehrig was a stalwart first baseman for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was famous for his strength and durability, earning the nickname ‘The Iron Horse’ with a record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
In a July 4, 1939 speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the ballplayer famously said, ‘For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.’
His popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball. He died two years after his diagnosis on June 2, 1941.