Neuro Note #3: Alex's Journey
“Alex’s Journey with ALS” is a tribute video by Marissa Coriell to her husband, Alex, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2013 and passed just two short years later. It was clear throughout the video that his “clinical carrot” or motivation was his faith. He knew this wasn’t the end for him and his belief that he would be healed was what motivated him to continue to be joyful and live life with purpose despite his devastating disease. At the beginning of the video, Marissa documents his first symptoms which were difficulty with walking, speaking, and completing self-care tasks such as shaving. As the disease progresses, Alex is confined to a wheel chair, loses muscle tone and strength in his arms, and begins receiving nutrition through a feeding tube. Marissa also filmed Alex engaging in several occupations that he found meaningful since the onset of ALS. Blogging was one of these activities and Alex spent time writing about his diseas