Columns

“I’ve learned a lot of stuff I wish I’d known 30 years ago,” my husband, Todd, said after eating a meal of baked fish that I’d first brined, per his suggestion. Todd is paralyzed because of ALS, and he uses a noninvasive ventilator. His neck is too weak…

How do you handle an unexpected change to your plans for the day? Do you shake your fist in the air and complain, or pause and look for opportunities? Last week, I was doing a little of both. I have ALS, and even though all of my life plans…

“I didn’t realize how weak my voice was until I was in a room full of chatter and background noise,” my husband, Todd, said after we had a stream of visitors for the past month and a half. At the end of May, many of my husband’s extended family came…

ALS patient Brian Wallach and his wife, Sandra Abrevaya, have made a significant and positive impact on the ALS community via their heart-wrenching 2022 documentary, “For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign.” In case you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t share much about the content. Suffice…

Since my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS 14 years ago, I’ve been on the lookout for technology that will improve his comfort and quality of life while making my role as his caregiver safer and easier. Moving Todd is hard on me physically. He’s a big guy, and…

I like collecting buzzwords. These are the popular words or phrases that weave their way into and out of our language every year. In fact, I think writing this weekly column for the past seven years has sharpened my sensitivity to trendy jargon. Some are fun to use and…

“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”  In an earlier column, I noted that there was no handbook to show me how to deal with ALS. Looking back, I admit that…

On my first date with my late husband, Jeff, he rhapsodized about his family. He was the middle child of seven, and it was clear from the start that his brothers and sisters were a central part of his life. They’d grown up together in a home in Wyandotte, Michigan,…

I’m cautious about leaving my husband, Todd, alone because ALS has compromised his lung function. Todd can usually tell when mucus starts building up, so if his lungs are doing well, we’re comfortable with me running errands or attending events, as long as I’m not more than 15 minutes…

Although I’ve accepted the many beeps, alerts, and reminders that pop in and out during my day, I’ve also developed the habit of selectively tuning out a few of them. I recently learned that’s not a good habit to have, especially because I live with ALS and some alerts…