ALS

Anatomy of a Fatal Neurological Disease:

-Certain fatality within 2-5 years of diagnosis
-Ultimate loss of motor coordination and muscle atrophy
-Loss of voluntary movement
-Retention of basic senses
-Retention of memory, personality, and intelligence
-Difficulty breathing, swallowing, speaking

This is a brief description of ALS (Amytrophic lateral sclerosis) commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Unfortunately, I've become very familiar with this in the past 72 hours.

My mom's best friend from Hilo flew to the Bay Area this week. After one short hour with a specialist at UCSF, she was diagnosed with ALS and coldly given the worst prognosis anyone could imagine.

I suppose when you dispense death sentences on a regular basis, one probably develops a professional indifference. The specialist at UCSF was terse, cold, and indifferent. But for those who travel across the Pacific Ocean however, a sentence of 2-5 years of life could be a bit warmer, don't you think?