Every year, skiers on Team ALS go to the American Birkebeiner (the premier cross-country ski race in North America) in honor of John Jaeckel, who is living with ALS, and all other Wisconsin residents battling the disease.
There is no cost for skiers to participate, we request that Team ALS members raise at least $1000 toward the cause.
My husband's ALS diagnosis didn’t explain the symptoms I was seeing. I searched the internet late at night and concluded that he also had Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Symptoms of FTD include a loss of empathy and executive function, an increase in inappropriate actions, a lack of judgement and inhibition.
The Association provides free online access to a variety of options, including publications, videos, books, and informative websites that provide a wealth of easy-to-access information on important topics relevant for people living with ALS and their caregivers.
Executive Director John Hedstrom of The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter offers a testimony to the Join Committee on Health Care Financing in support of in Support of H. 201 and S. 753, “An Act Advancing Health Care Research and Decision-Making Centered on Patients and People with Disabilities”. Read his statement on behalf of the Massachusetts ALS community here.
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies (ACT) for ALS (H.R. 3537) was approved by a unanimous vote on Thursday, November 4 in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Thanks to everyone within the ALS community who has advocated for passage and who has worked on Capitol Hill to help make this important step happen. The strong bipartisan support for this bill means smooth sailing as the bill goes to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee and then the full House for approval.
Amylyx recently filed a New Drug Application for AMX0035, a promising new drug that has proven safe and effective at slowing progression of ALS and extending the life of people living with the disease. The ALS Association has called on the FDA to approve the application with urgency.
The Letters family has graciously shared different perspectives of their family’s very personal journey with ALS on our blog throughout the past year. In recognition of National Family Caregivers Month, Patty Letters was kind enough to tell her side of the story living as an ALS caregiver.
Debbie Petrovsky, a woman with ALS residing in Massachusetts, pens poetry to articulate her experience living with the disease. Her unique expression is unique to her experience yet offers insight for those looking to learn more about the challenges of ALS.
Today, more than 230 organizations sent a letter to all 50 state governors urging them to maintain and expand licensure flexibilities enacted at the start of the pandemic for the duration of the federal public health emergency, to better address patient needs during the ongoing pandemic.