Dee Hagen

We’re thankful that we’ll be able to have kids, grandkids and other family at our home for dinner this year. My husband won’t be able to eat much and we’re going to need to figure that out. He doesn’t like to eat in front of people anymore. Regardless, how lucky we are to still be a “whole” family for one more Thanksgiving. Like Jan, my favorite…[Read more]

This is a timely topic in our household. Thanks for the advice. I’ll double check with medical team before starting my husband on anything. As someone else mentioned, we don’t need a person with ALS and diarrhea. A nightmare to be sure!

My husband has maintained his schedule of semi-annual dental cleanings, since his diagnosis in 2019. He plans to keep those going as long as possible. He is in a wheelchair and is able to maneuver it side-by-side with the dental chair and scoot into the dental chair. He still has use of arms and hands. He has no voice, so I go in with him to help…[Read more]

Thanks Marianne. I realized I was looking for the app on my MAC. When I used my phone, I was able to find it quickly. It looks much easier to use than the text to speech app Steve is using. Looks like the price has gone up a bit but still very affordable for the convenience.

I really appreciate this conversation. Steve’s voice is down to a whisper, and that is even hard to understand with some words. Amplifying it won’t really help. He’s not interested in using a Boogie Jot board.

Jim, I looked for the Apple app you use; Speech Assistant AAC and couldn’t find it. Could it be under a different name these days? Your…[Read more]

We’re in Washington state and it sounds like, as of today, Steve will be eligible for the next group. He’s over 65, so that puts him in two high risk groups. We’re hoping by the end of February but will certainly accept it asap if the process picks up the pace. I haven’t heard anything about how at-home caregivers fit into the vaccination picture…[Read more]

Yes indeed! Steve will get it asap and I hope they’ll consider spouses/caregivers at the same time. Fingers crossed.

We had our ALS chapter care coordinator reach out to us within 24 hours of my husband’s diagnosis. It was so reassuring that she was there for us. She was able to answer many of our initial questions. Since then she has provided guidance for resources we’ve needed.

I would say the hardest thing about being a caregiver, so far, is that I’m the…[Read more]

I signed the petition today and forwarded it on to close family and friends, asking them to do the same. It’s nice to see a bit of light for this dark diagnosis.

We’ll be getting our flu shots, and maybe pneumonia immunizations too. We have gotten flu shots for over 30 years and swear by them. We’ve also gotten shingles shots after seeing several members of our friends and family suffer with the shingles. I’ve gotten the Shingrix but Steve had the original shingles shot several years ago and doesn’t plan…[Read more]

The best advice (support) we received was from our local ALS assoc. chapter. They called my husband within a day of his diagnosis and offered to answer any questions we had. We didn’t know where to start but they quickly helped fill in some of the dark spots. They continue to be the first source we seek out when new questions arise because they’ve…[Read more]

My husband will be participating in the Healy platform trial. There are several reasons; less placebo, 6 month trial, open label options, 50+ locations and most importantly, his neurologist is actually encouraging about it. We’ve been talking with him about clinical trials since my husband was diagnosed in 2019. He was never encouraging about any…[Read more]

Thanks for the tips on what to look for. Especially about buying an older version because of the extra space. My husband is tall and therefore his Permobil chair is taller than most. There is a Braun dealer near us as well as another, regional dealer. I think we’ll be looking to purchase a used vehicle but I guess we’ll keep our options open as we…[Read more]

My husband and I think the ALS clinics are valuable for gathering, confirming or otherwise discussing issues and questions that have come up since his last clinic. At first, it was much more about waiting to see what the care providers were going to do for him. We quickly realized there were no magic bullets. We do think that each specialty has…[Read more]

Since my husband was diagnosed in January 2019, I’ve been trying to stay up on what’s going on with clinical trials. He was not initially interested in participating, primarily because of the placebo requirement. Last Fall I started watching the progression of the Healey Institute’s platform trial project. As it developed and was approved to move…[Read more]