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.

Yes, I have bitched about Facebook in the past, and probably more than a few times. After Rob and our friend John convinced me to sign up because everyone else in the world had already done it, I harassed them regularly—what exactly was so great about this weirdly addictive site where people write posts about how tired and ready for bed they are?

But whoa, have I changed my tune, and not just because of ALS. Facebook has allowed me to connect with friends and support them in a way that actually sometimes feels meaningful. It is the reason that I am aware of major events in the lives of some of my old, but still beloved, college roommates. It’s how I know when people’s eyes just. can’t. stay. open. even though somehow they possess the stamina to type this important status update. And it has definitely been the access point for building relationships (and therefore maintaining my sanity) with other people living with ALS.

What, seriously, WHAT did people with ALS do before the Internet? They must have felt so confused, so isolated, and so freaking bored. There must have been no reason to pour ice water on your head, no quick and simple way to sign an FDA petition, no way to get a hot topic like #Explainthe90sin4words trending.

Of course, those of us living with ALS have our moments with these feelings of isolation, but just having the ability to use technology to communicate with others going through a similar experience…for me, it’s been life-changing and disease-changing. Plus, the online quizzes!

I may have gotten off-topic here, but it’s Amy Janisse’s fault. I like her attitude, and I was smiling when I finished reading her submission to Speed4Sarah. She’s another person who is not giving up, who will fight for her child and her family, and who says—and means—that she feels blessed. Amy’s not stupid, and her life is not (nor has it likely been) easy. She doesn’t want ALS any more than the rest of us do. But she is facing it in a brave and positive way. Thanks, Amy. Thanks, Internet.

Read Amy’s words here.

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