Category Archives: Life

Speed4Amy

I’m just going to keep doing this, people. Keep introducing you to individuals and families dealing with the ALS monster. I’m not stopping until I can walk again, and if that happens I’m going to be way too busy WALKING AROUND SINGING to bother all of you about a disease that was finally, blessedly cured.

But for now…

Amy Janisse is a young mom from Michigan, and she is the newest Face of ALS on the site. Amy and I connected through Facebook, and she is yet another reason that I no longer whine about the social networking service. Read More>

Lorri Allen

I received some crappy news last night. There’s probably a better word to use than crappy, but that’s the one that comes to mind. A fellow mom with ALS passed away, leaving behind three kids and a husband. Lorri Allen was diagnosed with ALS in March of 2013. She was 48 when she died on Dec 21, 2014.

I knew Lorri only through Facebook. We were part of a small group of moms with ALS, a group I value immensely. Thoughts, hopes, fears, laughter…we shared them. At first, Lorri was always involved in the group, posting, responding, leaving a kind word or a helpful comment. But in recent months, she was not hugely vocal. Her ALS moved quickly, and typing became really hard for her. Every so often she would check in, and it was always a relief to hear from her, and to know she was still there. One of Lorri’s last posts in our group was a piece of advice to a recently diagnosed mom. She made that effort, so difficult for her, in order to let someone else know they were not alone. Read More>

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>