My brother was diagnosed with ALS 2 years ago. He has been confined to his bed since December 2006. He has a trect and ventilator and is unable to move. He can move his right foot some. We use a board of the alphabet to spell out what he wants to say.

He received a wheel chair over 15 months ago, but it no longer meets his needs, he needs the ALS wheelchair to accomodate his oxygen and ventilator and for the chair to recline, he can no longer hold his head up or his body. Medicare says he can only receive a chair every five years, so that is why he is confined to his bed.

My heart is so heavy for him, he was such a joyful outgoing person and I can see and feel his pain.

I have heard that there is a computer that possibly he could use by maybe a muscle in his face or something, this would be wonderful for him to be able to communicate better, he gets so flustrated trying to let us know what he is saying. Any suggestions from anyone would be appreciated. I feel so helpless, yet I would love to do more to help him.

Thank you for listening.

Hi Sheila, welcome to NT. I'm sorry to hear about your brother, I'm sure you'll find plenty of help here.

The ALS forum is here: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6

You need to copy and paste your post into the ALS forum, or just rewrite it. You'll get the answers you need there, from people who know exactly how your brother feels.

i Sheila. Welcome to Neurotalk! We are glad to have you here