Showing Up: Tiffany Dillon on ALS, Motherhood, and Redefining Strength

Tiffany Dillon is 31 years old, eight months pregnant, and living with ALS. She is also a former Division I athlete, an advertising professional, a wife, a dog mom, and someone who has chosen to turn her diagnosis into action by raising funds for Target ALS. This Women’s History Month, she shares her story.

March 27, 2026

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A Life Built on Movement

Tiffany Dillon grew up on Staten Island, New York, with a ball in her hand and a race to run. She played softball and basketball before finding her stride on the track. She went on to compete as a Division I athlete at St. John’s University, running cross country and track for four years.

“That experience shaped how I approach everything in life…with consistency, resilience, and a strong sense of team.”

It was also at St. John’s that she met her husband, Josh. Today, the two live in New Jersey with their golden retrievers, Elvis and Austin. And this May, they are expecting their first child.

A baby boy.

Outside of athletics, Tiffany built a career in advertising, drawn to the same mental challenge and drive she had as a competitor. Sports never left her life entirely. The TV is almost always tuned to a game.

But in the past year, everything changed.

The Diagnosis Journey: Eight Months of Uncertainty

It started with stiffness in her right foot just four months after her wedding. It seemed minor at first. Then she began tripping, falling, and struggling with stairs.

One day, while walking Elvis on their usual 2–3 mile route, she fell. A few weeks later, on the same path, she fell again. Same side, same ankle. A foot and ankle specialist treated the sprain but immediately referred her to neurology. What followed was nearly eight months of MRIs, blood tests, and appointments.

“ALS is often a diagnosis of elimination, which means ruling out everything else first. That part was incredibly exhausting. With every MRI, blood test, and appointment, I found myself hoping they would find something, anything that was fixable. And when results came back ‘normal,’ it was actually disappointing, which is a very hard feeling to explain to people.”

In May 2025, she received her ALS diagnosis. It was devastating, but it also brought clarity.

“Looking back, I’m grateful that my path to diagnosis was relatively quick. I know it is not this way for so many others, and I’m proud of myself for continuing to push for answers.”

Redefining Strength

For most of her life, strength had a clear definition for Tiffany: how fast she could run, how much she could push, what she could accomplish. ALS dismantled that entirely.

“As someone who has always been a ‘doer,’ one of the hardest parts has been not being able to measure my value in what I physically accomplish anymore.”

Navigating this while also preparing to become a mother has added another layer of complexity. There are moments of joy, and moments of fear, grieving the version of motherhood she once envisioned, while finding her way toward a new one.

“It has taught me that my value isn’t defined by what I can physically do. It’s defined by how I show up. My presence, my support, my mindset. Strength now looks like adaptability, acceptance, and continuing to move forward even when things don’t look the way you thought they would.”

Her athletic background, she says, has helped. The discipline, mental toughness, and ability to keep going even in discomfort have carried over. But the mindset has had to shift.

“I don’t think of it as ‘fighting’ every day. I think of it as showing up, adjusting, and continuing forward in whatever way is possible.”

Why She Chose to Raise Funds for Target ALS

When Tiffany decided to channel her energy into fundraising, Target ALS stood out for a specific reason: results.

“In my career in advertising, everything is centered around driving results. Building awareness is important, but ultimately it’s about achieving a clear outcome. That’s what stands out to me about Target ALS. There’s a defined mission at the center of everything they do: to move research forward faster.”

For Tiffany, investing in research is deeply personal. With ALS, options can feel limited before you even have a chance to fight. Research, she believes, changes that equation.

“Investing in research changes that. It creates the possibility of options, of progress, of more time. It gives people something to hold onto. For me, it’s not just about my own future. It’s about changing what this diagnosis looks like for everyone who comes after.”

What She Wants the World to Understand

When asked what she wishes more people understood about living with ALS, Tiffany’s answer was both honest and hopeful.

“That it’s both heavy and human at the same time. There’s the physical reality, the loss of movement, the loss of independence, the uncertainty of what comes next. That part is constant, and it doesn’t go away. But at the same time, life is still happening. There are still meaningful moments, relationships, and joy within all of it.”

She also wants people to understand the balance between support and independence.

“It’s not about being defined by what we’ve lost. It’s about continuing to live in whatever way we can.”

Women’s History Month, Personally

This year, Women’s History Month carries a different weight for Tiffany. She is simultaneously navigating two of the most profound experiences a person can face: a serious illness and the arrival of a new life.

“I’ve also been deeply impacted by the women I’ve encountered through this experience. There’s a quiet resilience, a positivity, and a way of continuing to show up that’s hard to fully put into words, but impossible to ignore. It’s a reminder that strength doesn’t always announce itself; it’s often just lived, day by day.”

One Message for the World

We asked Tiffany if she could share one message this Women’s History Month. Her words speak for themselves.

“Strength isn’t always something you can see. Sometimes it’s adjusting to a reality you didn’t choose. Sometimes it’s continuing to show up when things feel uncertain. And sometimes it’s finding a way to hold both fear and hope at the same time. That kind of strength deserves just as much recognition.”

Tiffany Dillon started her own fundraiser to support Target ALS and the urgent work of accelerating ALS research.

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