ALS - Possibly one of the worst dieases....

[FreakyOCR]

ALS. My Grandmother has it.

Basically this is what happens:

#2. ALS is a rapidly progressive fatal neuromuscular disease.

Nerve cells degenerate
Muscles are paralyzed
Generally the intellect & senses are unimpaired

That means that you are slowly unable to do things....

My grandma can barely eat anymore... She can't lift the food to her mouth... she can't get dressed, can't get up of the toilet, can't put on her socks... ANYTHING.

Her muscles and body are dying and her mind is fine. She is watching herself deteriorate... It is horrible watching this happen... there is NO CURE... She has to go on a respirator after walking down the hall because her muscles are so weak her diahpragm is also weak... it's really hard seeing my grandma, who was fully capable just 8 months ago....

She is very determined to to give up, and that is likely why she is still around.

She is in her 70's, but it is not an age onset disease. It can occur at ANY age, and has been known to occur in teens. It can affect ANY ethnicity...

See here for the 10 facts about ALS:
http://www.als.ca/tenfacts1.asp

I would never wish this upon ANYBODY, not even my worst enemies... (not that I have any enemies..)

The ALS society of Canada has done amazing things to help my Grandma... They have provided electric chairs (not the killing type, the raising type), shower chairs, repirators, free clinincs, tons of help and products.. they have been an irreplaceable support for my grandma....

If you feel like making a donation... even a small amount, please, do so here...

https://www.charity.ca/scripts/WebOb...Ftenfacts1.asp

I appreciate your support and than-you in advance... if you cannot afford to it doesn't matter... thanks anyways...

[Warthog]

That's really too bad

How does one get it?

ALS FAQ

The most common form of ALS is called Sporadic ALS.

In addition, about 5% of patients have an inherited variety called Familial ALS.

I read that as , they don't know you just do,, 95% of the time.

[FreakyOCR]

The worst part of it is that your body dies while your mind does not... you eventually end up "stuck" in a body that cannot do anything....

The left side of her body is becoming more and more paralized... she cannot use her left arm for anything... she has to use her right arm to pull it up onto the table to rest it....

It's a horrible, horrible disease....

[FreakyOCR]

My grandma is teetering on the edge.....

Wish you and your family strength and faith.

-Whir

This is more commonly known in Australia as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) - very debilitating, no known cure, and no treatments that seem to have much impact.

Like many of the neurone diseases (including Alzheimers) it has been suggested may have an infectious cause, which may be why it runs in families sometimes.

But not enough is known yet about why some people get these diseases and others don't, so money for research is vital.

Unfortunately not enough money is made available for research on this type of disease partly because it doesn't have a very prominent public "face", as it's a kind of "hidden" disease. Major drug companies have yet to find any specific drug targets to help these diseases, so no money is allocated from them..

Here is one Research Centre I know of you can help with donations - there are many more worlwide.

And here is the International Alliance of ALS/MND Societies I was looking for before.


MND is especially difficult for families of sufferers- my heart goes out to yours, Freaky

[FreakyOCR]

Thnaks peeps... I appreciate that... She may not live another day, unfortunatley...