Dwight Johnson, a 51-year-old Gainesville resident and UF alumnus, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in February 2008.
He was told there was no cure, and the disease would eventually kill him.
Immediately, Johnson decided he would not waste any time with negative thinking.
"You have two options when you find out about something like this," Johnson said. "You can either crawl up into a fetal position and crawl in a hole and say, 'That's it. My time on earth is over. Now I get to go see Jesus.' Or you can celebrate the rest of the time you have."
With a lot of help from a friend and hundreds of others, Johnson created the Dwight's Fight Foundation to raise money to fight ALS and make life easier for people afflicted with it.
The organization hosted the first of many charity golf tournaments on Monday at the Haile Plantation Golf & Country Club and the UF Golf Course.
ALS affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease causes a degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in partial or total paralysis and eventually death.
Shortly after receiving the diagnosis, Johnson and his wife, Debbie Johnson, sent out an e-mail to their friends asking for their prayers, he said. The e-mail got Johnson's business partner and friend, Mike Lattuca, involved.
"He found out about the diagnosis and went nuts, in the good way," Johnson said.
Lattuca called around and managed to get enough donations from friends and business partners to provide Johnson's family of six with an all expense paid trip to Hawaii, Debbie Johnson said.
After the Hawaii trip, Lattuca decided it was time to try to raise money and awareness for the disease, she said.
"He spearheaded this, and so we're just along for the ride," she said.
After talking with Dwight Johnson, Lattuca got the idea to hold a golf tournament to raise money and get the Dwight's Fight Foundation off the ground.
Lattuca said he owns a golf tournament company in Jacksonville, so Monday's charity event was easy.
The event also included a sponsors' dinner on Sunday night, which featured a performance by Sister Hazel, and a silent auction Monday afternoon.
Lattuca hopes to eventually have 35 golf tournaments each year all over the country to raise money for the foundation, he said.
"As long as I'm on God's good earth, I'm doing this, and that's a fact," Lattuca said.
Dwight Johnson has remained positive throughout this whole experience. He said his family's strong faith in God has helped them through this troubling time.
"I tell people it's really a blessing because I get a chance to say goodbye," he said.
Debbie Johnson also said despite the hardship they are enduring, a lot of good has come out of his condition.
"Every turn where there is something that we think could be negative, something positive's coming out of it," she said.
She said the hardest part is the knowledge that nothing can be done medically.
Because the disease is so rare, even though it has existed for a long time, not a lot of research has been conducted, she said.
"If you filled up The Swamp, how many will have it? One," she said.
Lattuca said the foundation hopes to raise awareness for the disease and eventually find a cure for it.
"One of the biggest things is that Dwight has handled this so courageously," Lattuca said. "While he is facing such a difficult time, he has helped so many people, including myself, which is a true testament to who he is."
