Joyful Sorrow - a Column by Kristin Neva

My husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS in June 2010. That winter, Todd and I, along with our 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, visited my parents in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My dad had plowed snow into high banks, and on one large pile next to the house, he had…

In the field next to our home, a stand of more than 100 Fraser firs provide boughs for my wreath-making operation. It’s a good seasonal gig for me because it’s flexible. Since I take care of my husband, Todd, who is paralyzed due to ALS, I can’t work outside…

It’s been a rough season lately in terms of finding care for my husband, Todd. One of his long-term nighttime caregivers gave notice last summer about moving on. Not only did she work two nights per week, but she was also flexible enough to pick up additional shifts, even on…

Life at home with ALS becomes like “Groundhog Day,” the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, in which the main character, Phil, is stuck in a time loop and is forced to live the same day over and over. But there’s something in us that craves novelty, and Phil goes…

As I drove through town, I cringed reading a church’s changeable-letter sign: “Be thankful for everything that happens to you. It’s all part of the experience.” There’s scientific evidence promoting the benefits of gratitude, so I try to practice it, but I get tired of counting my blessings…

I’m a do-it-yourself kind of gal. This has served my husband, Todd, and I well over the last 14 years as I’ve been his primary caregiver. We do not have an ALS clinic near our home, and our local neurologist moved away years ago, so we don’t have medical…

Sometimes I find perspective when I listen to other rare disease communities. ALS News Today is just one publication of its parent company, Bionews, which hosts more than 50 online websites devoted to rare and chronic diseases. Last week, I got on Cystic Fibrosis News Today to catch up…

Sometimes people reach out to me or my husband, Todd, to get our advice on building an accessible home. We share with them what we’ve learned over the past 14 years with his ALS and progressive disability. After Todd was diagnosed, we realized that we’d need to sell…

Handling night care has been one of the hardest parts about managing ALS for my husband, Todd, but now I’m hopeful because he’s been training himself to sleep on his back. Todd has been a side sleeper, and for years he had to be turned from side to side…

It’s hard for me to get away from home because I’m the primary caregiver for my husband, Todd, who has ALS. But I try to take daily walks in the fields and woods around our house, because nature feeds my soul. Last weekend, I managed to go to the…