These are really encouraging posts, thank you! My husband has had symptoms since Dec 08, but a very slow progression; currently only his left hand and arm are affected. Interestingly, he too has had two autoimmune disorders (for more than 10 years) and some things we have read do link autoimmune and ALS. It is truly a very curious disease and I am starting to believe that the cause(s) are so varied and complicated, they may never be clear. Ultimately, what caused it is irrelevant, anyway, because all one can do is deal with it. What is important is that there is hope, and life, and a life worth living. And we as partners and caregivers can be instrumental in making that life worth living.
I am trying to learn all that I can because my PALS has expressed that he will never be a person unable to drive or in a wheelchair or with a ventilator or....and in future I want to be able to help him see that there are many kinds of life that can be worth living, but he is not there yet...