Could Thinking Outside the Box Lead to a Cure for ALS?
Shortly after emerging from the stupor that culminated in my ALS diagnosis, I was consumed with a zeal to learn all that I could about the millstone dangling heavily from my neck.
Notes From the ALS Front
— Rick Jobus
Rick is a 62-year-old man who was diagnosed with ALS in January 2007. Currently a resident of Southwest Florida, he has lived in four other metropolitan areas, but greater Chicagoland will always be “home.” Rick is a degreed engineer, spending his career in the medical device industry. He’s had the good fortune of extensive travel throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He writes, in part, to be an ALS advocate. Additionally, it is his hope that his output will help dispel the myth that technical folk and digestible prose aren’t mutually exclusive.
Featured Post
In Memoriam: Rick Jobus, Feb. 6, 1958-June 19, 2022
Courtesy of Rick Jobus It is with deep sadness that we inform the ALS News Today community of the passing of our friend and treasured columnist, Rick Jobus, on June 19, 2022. Rick…
Read more
Showing Up with Carpe Diem Intent
A week ago last Sunday, I spent a portion of the day, as I often do, going to church. Well, not quite “going.” Owing to the challenges of readying and transporting me,…
Chairway to Heaven: My Power Wheelchair Takes Me Higher
With apologies to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant: Chairway to Heaven I can no longer walk down the road Unable…
Navigating the Chutes and Ladders of ALS: Happy Labor Day
During my early childhood, I often played Chutes and Ladders. For those who are unfamiliar with the board game or have a foggy memory, the board is made up of 100…
ALS: The Musical
The spark of inspiration for column topics sometimes comes to me from surprising sources. Last Saturday, with my submission deadline looming, I had nothing … nada … bupkis. Fearing I would to…
Advancing Potential ALS Treatments Is Like Accelerating a Glacier
Glaciers are known for their slow movement and the transformative change that they leave in their wake. Most move only a few centimeters a day. Yet they produce lakes,…
Wheels Within Wheels: Life and Consciousness Require Movement
Consider the wheel. Nothing comparable exists in nature. Its conception was not the byproduct of observation and imitation, but a 100 percent original human brainstorm. Evidence suggests that the first wheels were used…
A Few of My Favorite Words to Live By
I always have had a fascination with words. It stems from my mom and dad, both of whom instilled in me a voracious appetite for reading and writing. Letters from my grandfather blending humor,…
Viewing Life and ALS Through a Lou Gehrig Lens
“For the past two weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” —Lou Gehrig, July 4, 1939…
Navigating the Alternate Dimension of Home Health Services
“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. … That’s the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the Twilight Zone!” —Rod Serling…
‘Ode to Joy’: How a 911 Call Recalibrated Me
I recently reemerged from a plummet into the dark depths of my psyche. An eight-day hospital stay triggered my dive into an emotional abyss. About 2 1/2 weeks ago, a piece of chicken stubbornly…
The Boomerang Effect of Raising Awareness
A 1992 episode of the hit television series “Seinfeld” is a “life-imitating-art” story titled “The Pitch.” The character of George Costanza (with brief help from Jerry Seinfeld) attempts to explain the concept…
