ALS Disease: Living with Terminal Illness

ALS--otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease--is newly diagnosed in 5,000 people annually in America. Victims may live only three to five years (or much longer, as in the case of physicist Stephen Hawking), and as the disease takes an increasing toll, those who suffer from it become completely dependent on caregivers. This video profiles three individuals with ALS, including a college-level business instructor and a former marathon runner who met her husband only a few years before her diagnosis (the pair are quite open and honest about the impact of ALS on their relationship). In addition, the program features a few specialists who explain ALS' assault on motor neurons and why it takes so long to interpret symptoms (the diagnosis only comes after a particularly tortuous process). An exceptionally informative and sensitive overview that should be of interest to ALS sufferers, caregivers, and those who appreciate stories of courage and love in the face of terminal illness, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)