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In the 40-plus years rollators have been around, few design modifications have been made. The changes that have been made target an older demographic. But today’s rollator users don’t just live in nursing homes — we are traveling, attending social events, and seeking designs that match our lifestyles. If you…

Last weekend, I left my husband, Todd, with a caregiver while I attended our daughter’s dance performance at Northern Michigan University. “Love Is A Burning Thing: A Johnny Cash Ballet” was the CO/LAB Dance Company’s tribute to Johnny Cash, featuring a number of his songs. The energy in…

After my late husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with ALS in the fall of 2018, I could not have managed without the help of other people, and he couldn’t have either. This is hard to write, but even harder to own. Asking for help used to be difficult for me.

Three years after my husband Todd’s ALS diagnosis, a friend put me in touch with another family who had been dealing with the disease for about a year. I listened as the adult daughter told me how her mom, who had ALS, couldn’t move at all, and how her…

I have a pair of cute, pink, 1-pound dumbbells that sit on a side table within easy reach of my desk. I put them there last summer with the best of intentions: I’d perform a few simple arm exercises during my breaks from focused computer work. How often have I…

“My body looks the same, but it works differently now.” A friend told me that 30 years ago, following her abdominal surgery. I remember nodding to show compassion, while secretly thinking, “I haven’t a clue what she’s talking about.” Decades later, living with ALS, I finally understand. When I…

Three years after my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS, I was learning how to live with the ongoing ache of grief. I found myself crying as I watched our then 7-year-old daughter, Sara, ice skate in her program’s spring show. She and the other girls were wearing sparkly…

When my late husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, I knew it would bring emotional challenges for both of us. I expected — correctly, as it turns out — that we’d feel scared, anxious, and sad. I recognized the immediate and lingering shock it brought in different…

Every step of an ALS journey is difficult, but somehow we’re wired with the ability to forget much of the pain and remember the good. I wrote last week about our current challenge of finding nighttime caregivers. After getting all of the shifts covered, one of our caregivers…

I’m always on the lookout for strategies to help my day-to-day life with ALS go more smoothly. Recently, I found a surprising spark of inspiration in a junk drawer in the kitchen. It wasn’t something hiding inside the drawer that helped; instead, it was my frustrating encounter with the…