Introduction

I Couldn’t Save Her

“She’s gone.”

The voice on the other side of that early morning phone call knocked the wind out of me.

My sweet sister’s battle with ALS was finally over, but at that moment, it felt like my battle was only just beginning.

My mind went in every direction in the hours, days, and weeks that followed.

Why my wonderful sister? (Why not?)

She didn’t want to live this way. (But I wasn’t ready to let her go.)

I should have done more. (Why didn’t I do more?)

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to a loss of muscle control. For two and a half years, Mary Ellen, my precious big sister, suffered. There was little family and friends could do to ease the unbearable physical and emotional pain she endured.

There is no cure for ALS.

But somehow, I was convinced I had been put on this earth to find the cure.

To save my sister.