Last patient of the day today was in for a one-year follow-up. Since we saw her last year, she had been diagnosed with ALS. And seeing her today really affected me. I got a little teary at one point. When she had come in for previous appointments, she was actually somewhat of a pain, but seeing her today, my heart was just crushed!
She is only 58 and was already using a walker. And her hair was stark white as opposed to the usually dark brown.
Maybe it was something about her that also reminds me of my mom a little bit, but my heart went out to her. Usually an ALS diagnosis comes with a life-expectancy of two to five more years. She told us it is progressing pretty quickly. She did seem calm/accepting of it for what it is. It was just really sad, and I've been thinking about it all evening.
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