When Dagmar Munn was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 59 in 2010, she tapped into her nearly 30 years of professional health and wellness experience. She not only follows her own advice but also inspires and teaches others to do the same. In addition to her columnist role, she is one of the moderators for the ALS News Today Forums and writes a personal blog called “ALS and Wellness.” She lives with her husband in Green Valley, Arizona, enjoying finding humor in life’s situations and spending free time pursuing creative projects in fiber arts.“What was I thinking?” The words boomeranged around my mind as I stood frozen in place under the hot Arizona sun. I was experiencing an ALS patient’s worst nightmare: being stuck with an expanse of sidewalk ahead of…
Read more
What a long, crazy summer it’s been, as we’re living with minimal social interaction and long periods of isolation. Parts of our lives have changed without our consent, and we have to be on the lookout for developing symptoms.
Racing thoughts, runaway thoughts. Whatever you call ’em, I caught ’em. Yup, a case of full-blown, out-of-control, runaway thoughts. I hadn’t had them for years — not since the day I was told I had ALS. And then, like…
Last week, I had the pleasure of joining the Fox Valley/Lakeshore ALS Virtual Support Group in Wisconsin as their guest speaker. We had fun discussing ways to reduce stress during the ongoing crisis while we live…
During these past few months, like most folks I know, I’ve been watching movies — lots of movies. And by now, my wish list of titles is pretty well picked over. So, whenever a new release comes out, I…
Oh my! We’re still facing challenges brought on by the pandemic and most likely will continue doing so for some time. Right now I’m feeling the loss of being able to sit down with friends to chat and catch…
Recently, my husband and I experienced a staycation of sorts — we dined on two weeks of gourmet meals without leaving our home. Although it gave my husband-caregiver a much-needed break from meal preparations and was a nice change…
Last week, I joined about 20 other ALS patients in attending an online meeting on Zoom. While the speaker scrolled through her slide program, I thought, “Wow, no parking lots! We’re all here and no one had to deal…
This week, I’m celebrating my third anniversary of writing columns for ALS News Today. This special column expresses my gratitude for having the unique opportunity to share my thoughts and wellness knowledge with the ALS community. It is…
During my past 10 years of living with ALS, I’ve had to adapt to a lot of new normals. One of the most important has been learning to navigate what I call my “ALS time zone.” It represents…
A large part of successfully living with ALS is to face each challenge with a positive mindset and find workable solutions so I can continue to move forward with my life. Lately, a 4-by-6-inch piece of cloth — yes,…
Here’s a fun challenge. In the spirit of celebrating ALS Awareness Month, I invite you to play my A-L-S word game. It’s a simple game I created to help me cope with the stress and anxiety of…
Did you know that rollators were invented nearly 40 years ago? A Swedish woman with polio added four wheels to her walker, and the idea was an instant success. Most of us who use a rollator don’t really…
Get regular updates to your inbox.
