caregivers

Anxiety is common among people newly diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their family members, a small study from Sweden reports. However, symptoms of anxiety tended to ease about six or so months later for patients, while they continued to affect relatives, many who are caregivers, two years…

This past Sunday dawned crisp and cool on the eastern shore of Maryland, with a hint of light rain falling from a few clouds dappled against an otherwise vivid blue sky. I dressed to be outdoors, making sure my orange Tim Lowrey Panel T-shirt was visible under my jacket,…

“Are you ever going to go faster, Mom?” my 12-year-old son, Isaac, asked earlier this summer when I caught up to him at the bottom of a hill, where he was waiting for me. I enjoy mountain biking with him. At times I ease off the brakes on a smooth…

My husband is my primary caregiver. In fact, he’s been my only caregiver for the past 12 years that I’ve been living with ALS. That changed last week, when he needed medical tests that required an overnight stay in the hospital. That’s when we turned to a local home…

Music had been a source of connection and mild contention early in my relationship with my husband, Todd, but it hadn’t been much of either since Todd became paralyzed due to ALS. Our first date was to an Alison Krauss & Union Station concert. Todd was new to Milwaukee…

“What if Todd had aspirated while you were on your spring break trip?” someone asked me. That’s the type of question I’ve asked myself many times over the last decade since my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS. What risks are we willing to take to…

“I been in the right place, but it must have been the wrong time, I’d have said the right thing, but I must have used the wrong line, I’d have took the right road, but I must have took a wrong turn, Would have made the right move, but I…

I got away for a couple of nights during spring break with my 12-year-old son, Isaac, and 16-year-old daughter, Sara. It was good to have a mini-vacation, although I was sad my husband, Todd, couldn’t join us because his ALS progression makes travel too difficult. Three years ago, we all…

Minnesota lawmaker Dave Lislegard has introduced two measures in the state’s legislature that would invest tens of millions of dollars in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research and caregiver support. The first bill, HF 3603, would appropriate $20 million to the University of Minnesota for competitive research grants to…

ALS has compromised the breathing of my husband, Todd, to the point where his positioning — unless he is using the Astral noninvasive ventilator — can mean the difference between being able to breathe or not. We only realized how bad it was a couple of weeks ago when we…