It’s been four years now, living with ALS. Not the best of times, but trying to make every second count. There’s so much thinking, and wondering how will this disease progress? I am very optimistic, and focused on recovery and getting back to what I have lost. The mind and spirit can overcome many things, allowing yourself to feel defeated would be devastating and then harder to overcome. We must stay positive and determined, self-talk is key, meditation in finding your inter strength to repair your body and to rebuild which has been lost. It sounds easy, but requires dedication and focus. There are so many things, one piece at a time. The first thing on my list, create a support group, and educate those living with ALS. There is so much I’ve learned over these pass years. Becoming a Team Advisor for PatientsLikeMe, what an honor. Meeting so many people living with this illness, has been tough but, heart warming at the same time. Other parts of my journey, acupuncture treatments, eastern medicine, what a blessing. There are many ways, to deal with ALS, but we must keep an opened mind. Willing to try different methods of treatments, herbs, and supplements, and deep tissue massages,and lots of body stretching.

Our diet, one of the most important issues, maintaining our weight and not our fat, will help with our energy levels, and fatigue. At the beginning, the Doctors would always say keep your body weight up. But, for me I needed to lose weight. So before, we start this new journey, eating healthy goes along way. More fruits, and vegetables, lots of water. Cut back on the breads, sweets, and sodas. We must maintain a great balance and always watching our weight and food intake, remember our bodies, and muscles are being effected. So every calorie counts, shakes, have been helpful throughout, I would highly recommend Raw Organic Meal, tasting organic meal- on- the- go packed with incredible nutrition to help you satisfy hunger, manage weight and feels great!

Exercising has it’s pros and cons, because of our muscles and sometimes limited movement, we may not be able to perform certain tasks. My recommendation would be, continue to use the muscles still available to us. Range of movement of any kind would be huge, moving your arms or legs, up and down, set of five or ten, whatever you are comfortable with. The goal, keep those muscle memories active, and working blood flow at the same time. I know it can be frustrating but don’t let it stop you. If you are feeling fatigue or dizzy, please stop and catch your breath. Remember we our not trying to build muscle, but keep our body moving. It may seem hard at the beginning, but everything is hard when we start. Keep those limbs, moving.