As the aunt of an ALS patient, D. Fernando Schwartz is very involved in the ALS community.

He is a former ambassador of Spain to the Netherlands and previously to Kuwait and Bahrein, and retired from diplomatic service to join  Spain’s foremost daily, El País, to write leaders on international politics. In 1992, after a stint as communications director of the parent company, Prisa, Fernando became anchorman in one of TV’s most successful daily talk shows, Lo+Plus. As a writer, he is the author of 15 novels, one of which, The Misencounter, was awarded the Planeta Prize. The novel told of the tragedy of a woman affected by ALS. The actual character was Schwartz’s maternal aunt.