My ALS clinic disagrees with the idea that bowels, at least, are not affected. MND's affect voluntary muscles, which is why I cannot "hold" my bowels sometimes. Not a pretty sight. I keep a change of clothes in both of our vehicles, plus at my office. If going out for the day with a friend or my daughter I grab a pre-packed tote bag with an adult brief, baby wipes, and a change of clothes. I have only had 2 "public" accidents with my bowels and fortunately we were able to pull over into the woods but not before I made a perfect mess of the car. Now, when I go someplace new, I scope out where the bathroom is first. But it is still unnerving. My niece is getting married this fall, at an outdoor reception at her home. That, for me, is a recipe for disaster. There will be lots of food and drink and lots of guests and only 2 bathrooms. YIKES!
BTW, I have learned to be a tad up-front about these things. One really bad day I had a meeting in a building with which I was unfamiliar. I got there a few minutes early and told the chairperson I needed to use the rest room. It was a stretch - I had no need at the moment. But I was planning ahead. She showed me a public restroom which happened to be occupied at the moment. I could see that, were I in emergency mode, we'd be in a heap (pun intended) of trouble. So I smiled as graciously as I could manage and whispered, "I am afraid I cannot wait."
Bingo- I found out where the staff rest room was and, within the hour, my premonitions came true. Nature called and the public room was busy but fortunately I'd had enough self-preservation to ask ahead. Whew! Cindy