ALS battler continues to fight disease after death

Steven Vidinha spent the last months of his life doing everything he could think of to spare others from suffering his fate.

Vidinha, 80, died June 23 after a four-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that destroys the motor nerves, leaving the person unable to move and, eventually, unable to breathe, but still able to feel and to think. He knew there was no cure for him, but that made him more determined to help find a cure for others.

Vidinha was born Oct. 9, 1936, on Kauai. He was one of the first students to graduate from Honolulu’s Chaminade College in 1959. He later got his master’s degree in criminology from University of California, Berkeley. Vidinha was a sergeant in the training division of the Honolulu Police Department and was deputy director of the state Law Enforcement Planning Agency.

He retired as director of the state’s Criminal Justice Data Center, a position that suited his love of precision, his habit of maintaining meticulous records and his ability to make plans and take decisive action.

Even in retirement, Vidinha was very active — fishing, golfing with his buddies, working in his yard, telling great stories. But then he started noticing weakness in his hands and feet. As his symptoms progressed, doctors ordered test after test trying to figure out what was happening to this tough man who couldn’t muster the strength to squeeze a clothespin.

That’s the reality of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — a diagnosis often comes only after ruling out every other possible cause. By the time Vidinha was diagnosed, he was in the advanced stages of the disease and needed round-the-clock nursing care.

Vidinha went into hospice care thinking he had six months to live. He pushed past that life expectancy and kept going for another year.

Though he was ill, he was not idle and rarely alone. His wife, Dorothy, was always by his side. Friends would drop in every day to visit. Though he needed a BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) machine to breathe, he still told great stories. He hosted lively poker games — “Paiute” — in his room in a 24-hour nursing facility.

To fend off the sadness of his situation, Vidinha chose to fight for a cure. He knew a cure wouldn’t come for him, but it helped to remind him he was still the small-town kid with ambitions, the whip-smart exec who could make stuff happen, the cop who could face the bad guy and protect others.

When people came to see him — family, friends, even doctors — he made them put money in a jar for the ALS Association. He wrote letters, organized fundraisers, spoke at events to raise awareness of the disease. He even got his daughters to make and sell batches of pickled onions with the proceeds going to the ALS Association. He raised thousands of dollars from his hospital bed.

Vidinha is survived by his wife, Dorothy, daughters Barbara “Babz” Richards and Beverly Ikalani, and two granddaughters.

Services will be Aug. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe.

Vidinha wanted to continue his fight even after his death and had his daughter set up a fundraising page for him. Donations can be made at web.alsa.org/goto/BabzRichards or mailed to ALS Golden West Chapter, 28632 Roadside Drive #173, Agoura Hills, CA 91301.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.