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I watched a tribute video to a husband and father who recently died from ALS. Tears filled my eyes over tender moments of a toddler kissing and hugging his dad, jumping on his lap, and driving matchbox cars on his head while the dad smiled. The man radiated love for…

“But if I had the Chance to start all over I would be wishing today On a four-leaf clover … If I could turn back The hands of time.” The 45 rpm single “Turn Back the Hands of Time” by rhythm and blues artist Tyrone Davis was a…

Last week, I had several email exchanges with ALS patients who wrote about their feelings of anger because ALS had robbed them of the life they had planned to live. I certainly can relate. I felt exactly the same way after my diagnosis. I told them what had helped…

“We were ill-prepared and unequipped for the hike,” I told my husband, Todd, after returning home. The kids and I went to see Douglass Houghton Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with my friend, who was visiting from out of town. Todd stayed home because he has ALS and is…

“Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strange), Ch-ch-changes, just gonna have to be a different man.” — David Bowie Many people dislike change, some to the point of fearing it. According to author and motivational speaker Scott Mautz, writing for Inc.com, “Overcoming a fear of change can be as…

My husband, Todd, and I marked 18 years of marriage on Tuesday. The memory of our seventh anniversary is seared into my mind. He bought me flowers from a Mayo Clinic gift shop. We were in Rochester, Minnesota, getting a second opinion on his ALS diagnosis. After a battery of…

I love daily routines. For me, having a set of habits and to-do projects waiting to be tackled helps me feel grounded when the world’s events are in turmoil. And more importantly, daily routines keep my mind focused on things other than my ALS. What I don’t love are disruptions,…

I pleaded. I bargained. I threatened. But it was no use. My dog would not back away from the woods behind the shed, where he had been sprayed by a skunk just two weeks earlier. I was more panicked when he got skunked than I was now. I frantically searched…

This past week was filled with voices. No, I wasn’t hearing voices in my head. But everything seemed to involve a voice. Let me explain. An action hero uses his voice I watched the newly released documentary “Val,” currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. By the time the final…

Help has come and gone over the past decade since my husband, Todd, has had ALS. When it became too difficult to travel four hours away to an ALS clinic, Todd went to a local neurologist who managed his care. After a couple years, his neurologist left the area, and…