Columns

I use many strategies to keep myself engaged in life and avoid getting pulled down mentally by my ALS. Being a “go-along” is one of those strategies, and it’s a perfect partner to showing up. But being a go-along — that is, accompanying my husband on his various errands…

A couple weeks ago, when my husband, Todd, told me he wasn’t going to attend our kids’ end-of-the-year events at school — including our son’s band concert and our daughter’s choir concert and dance recital — it was a reality check for me about where we are in this ALS…

My week has been full of projects, online responsibilities, physical activities, minicelebrations, and, oh yes, living with ALS. And while we ALS patients often complain that having our disease is a 24/7 challenge with no days off, I’ve found a way to give myself a mental break and enjoy…

In the summer of 2010, my husband, Todd, stopped at the mall after work. It was my birthday, and he hadn’t gotten me anything yet. His mind was still swirling a month after receiving an ALS diagnosis. The shock of it. The grief. He walked through the mall…

Like many ALS patients who have swallowing issues, a condition known as dysphagia, I follow a regimen of what I can and cannot eat. I’ve accepted this as my new normal for a number of years now, so my emotional reaction to a friend’s recent social media post caught…

A couple weeks ago, one of our toilet tanks developed a crack and started leaking. I turned off the water, and while we waited for a new tank to arrive, we filled a bucket with water from the tub to flush the toilet or used the other bathroom. On Saturday,…

“Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home. … When my life is almost gone, Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall.” Although I fall light-years shy of the realm of gospel music aficionado, certain songs of that genre move me like no selection from…

Did you know that May has been ALS Awareness Month for the past 30 years? Yes, that’s right, 30 years. Some probably think ALS awareness activities began in 2014 with the ice bucket challenge. At least that’s when many first pronounced the letters A-L-S before dumping a bucket of water…

Editor’s note: This column discusses suicide. Please find resources for help at the end of the column. In the “Safety Training” episode of the sitcom “The Office,” Michael Scott, the boss, wants to prove that working upstairs in the office is just as risky as working in the…

“I been in the right place, but it must have been the wrong time, I’d have said the right thing, but I must have used the wrong line, I’d have took the right road, but I must have took a wrong turn, Would have made the right move, but I…