The Caring Corner®

Treating Lou Gherig’s with Home Care in Chapel Hill

June 18, 2014

There are few afflictions as devastating as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  Also known as ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, its more popular name derives from the famous baseball player who suffered with it.

In our home care agency in Chapel Hill, we encounter individuals who struggle with it as well.  Lou Gehrig’s Disease targets spinal and brain nerve cells that are responsible for one’s movements.   Over time, these cells die, which ultimately leads to complete paralysis of the ALS sufferer.  Once the central nervous system can no longer communicate with the muscles in the body, the patient becomes lifeless.

What causes Lou Gehrig’s is not clear.  Equally, symptoms vary from person to person.  It seems to be a function of how much the disease has progressed and what the individual’s particular response is.

Symptoms often include muscle weakness, such as the inability to raise one’s arm or lift one’s leg.  The most troubling symptoms include things like shortness of breath, which suggest that’ one’s ability to breathe is being threatened.

There are medications that can slow down the progression of the disease.  The disease is incurable.  While it seems trite, people who suffer from ALS suggest that positive mindset and honesty about one’s prospects are some of the best tools to face such a diagnosis.

Our central nervous system is in charge of every movement we make.  Walking, lifting a pencil, typing, are all controlled by it.  Dead nerve cells do not regenerate, so over time the need for home care increases to assist one as the need grows.  One drug, riluzole, has been proven to slow the progression of damage to nerve cells.  So an earlier diagnosis helps your loved one maintain the highest quality of life for as long as possible.

ALS affects relatively few people.   Studies suggest that there are about 30,000 that suffer with it at any one time.   Still, the impact of the disease is devastating both to sufferer and family.

 

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