When someone is living with ALS, a progressive neurological disease that attacks nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, it slowly steals the ability to move, speak, eat, and eventually breathe. There’s no cure—but palliative care, a focused approach to improving quality of life for people with serious illness can make a real difference every single day.
Muscle weakness, the core symptom of ALS that starts in the hands, feet, or throat and spreads doesn’t just affect mobility—it changes how you eat, talk, and even sleep. People with ALS often need feeding tubes, speech devices, and ventilators as the disease moves forward. But the goal isn’t just to delay decline—it’s to keep life meaningful. That’s why motor neuron disease, the broader category ALS belongs to, requiring specialized, multidisciplinary support demands more than medicine. It needs physical therapists who know how to adjust braces, nurses trained in suctioning, and families who learn how to communicate without words.
Many of the posts in this collection focus on the real, day-to-day challenges: how to handle swallowing problems safely, what drugs help with saliva or cramps, and how to avoid infections when breathing becomes harder. You’ll find guidance on when to use non-invasive ventilation, how to talk to doctors about advance directives, and why some medications used for other conditions can accidentally make ALS symptoms worse. There’s no one-size-fits-all plan, but the right support system can turn overwhelming moments into manageable ones.
If you’re caring for someone with ALS—or living with it yourself—you’re not just managing symptoms. You’re learning how to live differently. The articles here don’t promise miracles. They offer practical steps: how to set up a home for safety, what devices actually work, how to spot early signs of trouble before it becomes an emergency. This isn’t theoretical. It’s what people are doing right now, in kitchens and bedrooms and hospital rooms, to keep dignity and connection alive.
