ALS, The Wound We Can’t Heal
“ALS, The Wound We Can’t Heal.”
“Eric Dane’s death is a reminder, all too painful, that ALS remains incurable.
Today, in the days after Eric’s death, life hurts. I remember my dad. I consider my worst fear coming true. I empathize with his family, the daughters he left behind, their milestones he’ll miss: again, and again, and again. How unfair this is to them. How this is 50% likely to be my future by his age, too.
I wrote about what it was like treating my first patient on my return to the wards: emergency medicine. How all of my patients seemingly had a fix to their problem. Yet my dad, presenting to the ER with shortness of breath secondary to ALS the year before, was far from fixable.
I’ll continue to fight for a cure. For my new friends at Genetic ALS & FTD: End the Legacy. For my family. For me. And yes, I’ll say cure. Because I’m never sure I’ll survive my genetic predisposition to ALS/FTD, but I sure as hell will try my best.”