Life With ALS.com

+    Diagnosed Aug 2005

+     Bipap March 2007

+     PEG July 2007

+     Trache and Vent July 2008

Still Living, Loving & Laughing

What is ALS?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected.

A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no or negative. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment - "No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region.

As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send electrical impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look "thinner" as muscle tissue atrophies.

Why am I building this site?

The purpose of this web site is to share my experiences and my journey living with ALS, it includes things that I have learned, what has been helpful to me and advice on how to live.

I want to try to be a positive voice and to help PALS (person with ALS) and CALS (caregiver of someone with ALS).

Let's get on with enjoying life as much as we can today!

When someone is hurting, is scared and looking for some form of comfort, they can come here and hopefully see a different side of living with ALS.

There is too much “Doom & Gloom” around this disease.

If we dwell on the negative we will have a short and unhappy life, and so will everyone around us. We need to dwell on the positive.

I want this site to be a positive and helpful place for people to come and learn about ALS and how to live with it. A site where truth and honesty prevail.

Being happy does not mean everything is perfect.

It means you have decided to look past the imperfections.

(our granddaughter)

ALS does not have to be Fatal

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

—1 Corinthians 10:24