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ALS TRIVIA – – “ALS Has Many Names” Did you Know?
“The disease was identified in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and became more widely known internationally on June 2, 1941, when it ended the career of one of baseball’s most beloved players, Lou Gehrig. For many years, ALS was commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.”
What other names does ALS go by?
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1 Reply
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Thank you for posting this one Amanda! Too many names? This is a topic I feel strongly about. Here are some excerpts from a column I wrote on this very issue:
“…the disease goes by three names! …every news item, press release, or research article has to state ALS … or MND …, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, before diving into the actual topic. Having multiple names and ending with something like, “also known as” is a marketing and fund-raising nightmare.”
“During my first year of living with ALS, I’ll be the first to admit that just speaking or reading the letters A-L-S made me sad. Their invisible power created images and fears that took my mind to dark thoughts. Knowing I had to feel, read and speak those three letters every day for the rest of my life, I decided to change their meaning completely. I turned them into something new, positive, and more ME. Words that made me smile, like:
Abundant- Laughing-Situations, or Attitude-Leads to-Success and even Active-Locomotor-Skills
So, maybe we are too far into life to stop and have the world adopt only one name for this disease; too much corporate letterhead to change, and too many explanations. But whatever you choose to call it — ALS, MND, or Lou Gehrig’s disease — I vote to add the tagline also known as: Adapt-Learn-Survive”
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