Columns

This past week had me experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. I started with a feeling of pride while reading a recent study that validated my at-home voice therapy sessions. Next, curiosity drew me into investigating an innovative exercise program designed for Parkinson’s patients. Then, the week ended on a…

When my 12-year-old son, Isaac, went to mow the grass last week, he noticed that one of the tires had come off the rim. My husband, Todd, purchased the zero-turn lawn mower nine years ago, a few years after his ALS diagnosis, when his arms were too weak to…

Courtesy of Rick Jobus It is with deep sadness that we inform the ALS News Today community of the passing of our friend and treasured columnist, Rick Jobus, on June 19, 2022. Rick published the first installment of his column, “Notes From the ALS Front,”…

Sometimes the simplest things can help us the most. That’s what I learned in the months right after I received a diagnosis of ALS. Like most newly diagnosed ALS patients, I felt overwhelmed trying to find out what ALS was, not really wanting to know, and just wishing…

“What if Todd had aspirated while you were on your spring break trip?” someone asked me. That’s the type of question I’ve asked myself many times over the last decade since my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS. What risks are we willing to take to…

“Kristin, if you can’t choose joy for yourself, then do it so Todd’s remaining days and years won’t be miserable,” I wrote in my journal a month after my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS. “Do it so your kids can see how to live well, so they…

Ever since I was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, I’ve become sensitive to how ALS is represented in the movies. And I’ll admit to voicing my opinion about the topic in several of my past columns. So you can imagine my glee and pride when, six months…

As I left our house to get the kids from school, the tree was gone. A contractor’s crew was removing brush from the ditch with an excavator to extend the culvert that passed under our driveway. My husband, Todd, had specifically asked that the poplar tree be left alone. I…

I’m all in when it comes to celebrating milestones, and as many of my readers know, I’m a glass-half-full person. So when June arrived, I didn’t have to look far for my first reason to celebrate. Happy 5 years to me! This month, I’m celebrating the five-year milestone of…

Every Memorial Day, I go with my mom, daughter, and son to the Lakeside Cemetery in Hancock, Michigan, to attend a ceremony honoring veterans. I drive separately in case I need to return home quickly to help my husband, Todd, who has ALS. The ceremony ends with the…