After a month of sleepless nights and worrying, Todd Holmdahl was waiting to find out whether he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or not. With his wife, Anne, at his side, he braced himself for the test results. Todd had done enough research to know just how much ALS could take from him: his career, his independence and eventually his life. When Michael Elliott, M.D., confirmed Todd did not have ALS, his reaction was immediate.

“I felt instant relief, but it was also a revelation for me,” Todd says. “I’ve been blessed with a really good life and a great career,” says Todd, who is the CVP of Microsoft Quantum. “But I’ve started to focus on relationships. Taking care of myself, my family and my community—those things have become more important."

Todd and Anne are grateful to Dr. Elliott for the excellent care he provided Todd at a scary time. “He genuinely does this as a labor of love to help people,” says Todd. “You have to have an incredible amount of empathy and strength to do the kind of work Dr. Elliott does,” adds Anne.

Todd is hopeful that Dr. Elliott’s work can inspire others to unite technology and medicine in new ways. “The problems that we’re facing today will require a combination of tech people and medical people,” says Todd. “I think this is a small example of that, and it may be a blueprint for some of that going forward.”