We hear and read of them: miracle cures ranging from tumors that have disappeared to the sickest of babies pulling through without any after effects of their illness or complications. Many of these miracles are due to the power of prayer, say the devout. Can this really happen?
A woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) says that it can and has happened to her. Fifty-year-old Italian Antonia Raco was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and has been wheelchair bound for the past four years. Earlier this month, she visited the a shrine in Lourdes, France, a popular …read more

Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are looking at a potential link that connects Lou Gehrig’s disease and algae. Lou Gehrig’s disease “attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.”

While studies are still preliminary and additional research is needed, the preliminary thought is that the disease could be triggered by algae in the water. One source says that “certain algae blooms produce a neurotoxin that may trigger the disease. The blue-green algae can be fatal to animals and should be avoided.” Researchers note that this algae is extremely rare.
Image: sxc.hu.

Stephen Hawking , the renowned physicist and possibly the longest surving person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has been hospitalized with what is reported to be a chest infection. The 67-year-old Hawking was diagnosed with ALS when he was 21 years old.
Apparently, Hawking has been ill with this infection for a while now but is now in hospital for further treatment. According to the article, Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking is hospitalized , a spokesman will be issuing an update tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.
While it’s not been said anywhere, usually this type of chest infection is pneumonia. And, …read more

What do Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell, former Montreal Alouette defensive half-back, Tony “the Staplegun” Proudfoot, and actress Angela Lansbury all have in common? All three have been touched by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Nancy O’Dell just revealed to People that her 74-year-old mother was diagnosed with ALS this past November. Tony Proudfoot, an accomplished athlete, physical education teacher and life saver, was diagnosed with ALS last year at the age of 57 years. Tony played an instrumental role during the Dawson College shooting in September of 2006. He was the person you could see in the news …read more

 
This week, we speak with a retired surgeon from the mid-west USA.
 
Can you tell me about when you first started experiencing the pain and what kind of pain it was? What were you told?
I started having arm pain around five years before I had to retire. At first I thought it was just a pulled tendon or a bruise. It felt like my elbow and hand were being crushed, or sometimes like a fire breathing rat was gnawing on my bones. Sometimes it feels like I’m being crucified. It would …read more