Saturday, February 28, 2026

Saturday, February 28, 2026

I’ll never forget the day my husband was diagnosed with ALS. The neurologist stood next to the hospital bed, “I hope I’m wrong - I really hope I’m wrong - but I believe you have ALS. "

I had no reaction because I didn’t believe it. It couldn’t possibly be ALS. I was sure we would go home and begin researching diseases that mimic ALS but are nowhere near as serious and we would discover the real issue.

Fast forward 553 days, after hours of tears, many hugs and prayers, reluctant acceptance of a “shitty diagnosis” and the formation of an army, we have faced the inevitable outcome of ALS. Andy’s courageous fight came to an end on Friday, February 27. Nikki, Zack and Alex were here and many family members, too.

This doesn’t seem real. It will take a long while to accept all that has happened. It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Andy was a fighter. He showed courage everyday. He was never angry about it. He just kept fighting to do as much as he could for as long as he could. I will - we all will - miss him terribly.

We, his family, will continue his blog posts - maybe not every day, but for a while. Also, I plan to create a book about Andy so his grandchildren will know him through the eyes of friends and family and from his own words. I’ll send more information to you about that soon, and I hope you all will help me create it. More on that later.

In the meantime, never forget his words - Love you guys. ❤️