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My first symptomatic expression of ALS may have been as I left a football game. I fell flat on my face. At the time, I blamed it on the sun and the beer, although that combination in the same dosages had not felled me before. Shortly after, I became prone…

Sometimes living with ALS makes me feel like I’m competing in the Olympics. I wake up in the morning and wonder how my body will perform that day. Then I lie awake at night rehashing all the things that went wrong. The voices in my head often sound…

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” ―Emily Post In case we ever meet, I want to apologize in advance if I ever appear insensitive to, or unaware of, your feelings. That is…

If you’re like me and live with ongoing physical changes from ALS, you’ve probably used workarounds. What is a workaround? A workaround is a creative, temporary solution that solves an everyday problem. For example, in the real world, folks put red duct tape over a broken tail light…

“You just got lesson No. 1: Don’t think; it can only hurt the ball club.” That was the advice that Kevin Costner, who portrayed baseball player “Crash” Davis, dispensed to Tim Robbins, who portrayed rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh, in the 1988 film “Bull Durham.” Ordinarily, I opt…

Hello again! I’ve just returned from my summer vacation — my month-long vacation from ALS! No, I didn’t suddenly escape my disease or experience a miraculous recovery; my ALS is most certainly still here. My vacation was a mental vacation; an abstention from any and all ALS-associated media;…

Love, according to the Bible’s First Epistle to the Corinthians 13:7, “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” As Labor Day approaches in the U.S., it is fitting to honor the one occupation that, within the above context, may aptly be characterized as a labor of love. Thank God…

“Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” ―St. Vincent de Paul I never knew the comical extent of my pride until ALS hit me. Prior to its impact on my life, I prided myself on my independence and the manner by which I presented myself to the…

“You can either celebrate what you can do, or mourn what you can’t. Every day I wake up and create a new normal. I don’t dwell on what has changed, but instead, I focus on keeping busy achieving my goals.” –Augie Nieto II, fitness pioneer Nieto and I, independently,…

“Use it, or lose it.” That was the motivational summary statement during my first post-ALS diagnosis physical therapy (PT) session. As my condition’s horrific prognosis continued percolating in my brain, I replied, “Don’t you mean ‘use it, while you watch yourself lose it?’” There is an ongoing debate over whether…