Category Archives: Diagnosis

Speed4Flora

Rob and I were making our exit from the ALS TDI White Coat Affair gala in November, when we were flagged down by three women sitting together at a round table. Two of them were ALS advocates, and they were leaning in towards a third, a really lovely woman named Flora Fasolya, who was there from New York. One of the women, Michele Dupree, explained to me that Flora had been diagnosed about a year earlier, and that she needed to talk to someone who understood some of the physical difficulties she had been having.

We talked for a little while, Flora asking questions about how Rob and I manage certain parts of our day in an attempt to learn how she and her boyfriend, Chris, can adjust to their new life with ALS. I know Flora spoke with many of the other people at the party that night, too. She was gathering information, something that everyone with ALS should do. Even if no one knows exactly what to expect from this disease, and when, we can absolutely learn from each other’s experiences. Read More>

Something I Tried

About a month after my ALS diagnosis in 2012, I received a questionably positive test for Lyme Disease. The reason I say it was questionable is because even the diagnosing doctor, a Lyme expert, said that it was not *exactly* definitive, but that we should nevertheless set out to treat it, just in case.

I was all in. Earlier Lyme tests had been negative, and I knew the treatment was intense. But I had ALS. If I’d been told there was a chance that living in the washing machine and eating styrofoam would help me, I would have done it. And then I think this would be a very different blog.

I arranged to have the necessary minor surgery. A skinny tube called a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) was fed into my arm, traveling through my body to its final destination in my chest. It took about a month to get insurance to agree, and to get the appointments scheduled. That was all time that I was sure was being wasted, time keeping me from getting to this potential cure.

How had I gotten Lyme Disease? There were realistic answers to that question. Read More>

Speed4Vivian

Today I added a new Face of ALS to the site. I hate doing that, hate that there are new faces of ALS, all day every day. But I am also incredibly grateful when people want to share their personal stories. It’s the most important thing we can do to continue the focus on this disease and how it is affecting lives.

There are no good stories of people getting ALS, but Vivian Connell’s seems notable in its irony. She went back to school in her 40s so that she could launch a second career and continue her good work in the world. (I don’t have an advanced degree, but word on the street is that this kind of endeavor can be pricey.) Vivian was diagnosed with ALS less than a year after graduation. Yet, as you’ll read, she has not let it define or deter her. She is an excellent example for her two teenagers and for the rest of us.

You can read Vivian’s story here, Read More>