August is National Wellness Month. Making a concerted effort to keep your mind healthy is just as important as keeping your body healthy, particularly for people living with ALS and their caregivers.
Executive Director John Hedstrom of The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter pens a letter to the Massachusetts community offering thanks for support throughout the trials of 2020 and urges participation in the Chapter's 2021 event season. His letter also details how folks can attend the Walk to Defeat ALS either in person or virtually.
Youth who help care for their loved ones with ALS are learning about important areas of ALS care – from physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, to social work and neurology -- through YCare, an education and support program developed and directed by Dr. Melinda S. Kavanaugh, Assistant Professor of Social Work with the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Hero Award is the highest honor given by The ALS Association. Each year, we recognize people living with, or who have lived with, ALS who have made a significant impact in the fight against the disease. This year’s honorees—Patrick Dolan, Steve Kowalski, Joel Shamaskin, David Tomassoni—have all made a lasting impact for the ALS community.
Dr. Emily Plowman, one of our Clinical Management Grant awardees, recently published a promising case report on a person with early-stage ALS who has been participating in a mild-intensity respiratory strength training program. The individual has been doing the strength training program with Dr. Plowman and her team at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, over the past 24 months.
This article was originally published on the blog of the ALS Society of Canada on November 15, 2019, with kind thanks for their permission to reuse it.
The first thing one notices upon walking into Jeff and Darlene’s airy bungalow is the feeling of warmth and love that reaches into every corner: it’s present in the family photos that adorn the walls and the tasteful trinkets carrying messages of friendship and hope. And it’s a stark contrast to the second thing that’s evident: the soft, motorized whir of the breathing machine that keeps Jeff alive. It’s a constant reminder of the thin line between life and death – a line with which Jeff and Darlene are all too familiar.
My parents had been married less than two years when my dad was diagnosed. Of course, making a decision regarding whether or not to start a family was difficult at the time, but due to their faith and positive outlook, they chose to do so. Had they not shared the same optimism, my older brother John would not be here, and I would not be writing this today. To say that I am thankful for their decision is an understatement. My dad has had a long battle with ALS and is still fighting after 26 years.
On a recent Connecting ALS podcast episode, we spoke with Dr. Terry Heiman-Patterson, Professor of Neurology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Director of the Temple MDA/ALS Center of Hope, to learn more about her work looking into ways to expand access to clinical trials for historically underserved populations.