If you start a ping list for this subject, please include me. My grandmother is one of the ALS cases in the Point Clear/Bon Secour group and I have a 4 year old niece who is battling (successfully so far) leukemia (ALL type). She lives in the same area. I, too, grew up on the bay, crabbing and floundering, and learning to swim right infront of my parents' home. I find it hard to believe it's the water, but perhaps some other environmental factor. Your point about the spanish moss, the north wind and the paper mills is also a memory I share.
Your grandmother and niece will be in my prayers.