Huge shoutout to the Coronado Lifeguards for use of their beach power wheelchair yesterday! It gave me some independence at the beach that
#ALS
had taken.
#NotTodayALS
#NoWhiteFlags
Had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings today with my 19 year old son. As he was attempting to pay our bill, our server told us that it had been picked up by a generous gentleman two tables over who had watched my son patiently feed me. Thank you kind sir!
#RandomActOfKindness
Over the past 2+ weeks, I’ve been doing pool exercises. I struggled to even stand when I started & today I’m knocking out squats in reps of 10!
#NoWhiteFlags
#NotTodayALS
Yesterday, I spent
#LouGehrigDay
in a clinic getting
#NurOwn
. Today, I attended my youngest son’s 8th grade promotion ceremony. Next week, I will be at my oldest son’s high school graduation. I don’t believe that I would be here to do either without NurOwn!
Six years ago, I was on top of the world and oblivious to
#ALS
. Today, I am no longer oblivious to ALS but still feel like I am on top of the world.
#NoWhiteFlags
5 years ago today, I was diagnosed with
#ALS
. I haven’t walked in years but I am still breathing on my own and eating whatever I want. I attribute much of what I can still do today to the six treatments of
#NurOwn
that I received under EAP.
ALSland has lost a giant & unrelenting force to do things better, be more patient-centric & on the
#ALS
clock. I already miss you! You have been a best friend & my partner-in-crime! I will continue to make good trouble for you! I love you
@sandymorris333
!
2 years ago today, I was diagnosed with ALS & given 2-5 years to live. Since that day, I have partnered with other amazing people to move mountains in the fight against ALS, & made sure that the important people in my life know how much I love them.
#EndALS
#Diagnosiversary
I’m a 50 y.o. husband to an amazing woman & father to 4 wonderful children, living in Temecula, CA. Was a National Champ with
@UW_Football
& played semi-pro soccer before a successful 25+ career in technology. Was diagnosed with ALS in August 2018.
#ALSAwarenessMonth
#Day1
We need to stop pretending like we fully understand
#ALS
when it comes to evaluating efficacy of ALS therapies in clinical trials. We should be celebrating a treatment effect in some people! Those of us with ALS are fading away while healthy people ask for more data & trials.
Stop me if you heard this one:
Two guys with ALS roll out of a party in their wheelchairs in New Orleans. One,
@pjgreen
, turns to the other, me, and says, “shall we race?”
June 22, 2021 I had my last
#NurOwn
treatment. ALSFRS-R was 28 (up from 26 at 1st
#EAP
treatment on 3/2) & remained there until I started declining at the end of Nov. I’m now at 25 but get my 4th NurOwn EAP treatment next Wed. Maybe I’ll be able to take my pills again by myself!
There are too many orgs in
#ALS
Land that are not working together & appear to be more about feeding egos and less about really making a difference. Imagine where we would be if we all got in the same boat & rowed in the same direction, and stopped duplicating efforts.
People with
#ALS
will try anything that may help us slow decline of function. We take an insane amount of pills & supplements every day hoping that maybe one of them will make a difference. We will never know if any of them are helping or not, but what other options do we have?
If you have a say in whether an
#ALS
therapy gets approved by
@US_FDA
, you should be required to spend a day with someone living with ALS. Maybe that would be the persuasion you need!
Today is
#LouGehrigDay
& it is so unbelievable to see how June 2nd is bringing the
#ALS
Community together to celebrate Lou, those living with ALS and those we have lost to ALS. I am so glad we didn’t listen to those that said we couldn’t make it happen.
#LG4Day
ALS is an expensive disease that isn’t as rare as some think. I appreciate the focus on solving the ALS mystery & finding effective therapies, but there’s too much invested on CURES & not nearly enough on everyday CARE support for PLWALS. The current imbalance is unacceptable!
After living with ALS for 5 1/2 years, I’ve noticed something…
When you are early in your diagnosis & strongest, you are focused on treatments & efforts supporting research that may yield therapies. As you get weaker physically & mentally, your priority becomes care.
ALS is an expensive disease that isn’t as rare as some think. I appreciate the focus on solving the ALS mystery & finding effective therapies, but there’s too much invested on CURES & not nearly enough on everyday CARE support for PLWALS. The current imbalance is unacceptable!
Successfully traveled across the country by myself with my portable power wheelchair. DC, I hope you’re ready for a whole lot of
#ALS
talk this week!
#EndALS
I was lucky enough to get access to an investigational therapy that not only paused my disease progression, but also gave me back some lost function.
@US_FDA
says the therapy didn’t meet its p-value in clinical trial, but it worked for me… it met the me-value!
#NurOwnWorks
If a therapy shows a treatment effect, that is huge in
#ALS
. Post-hoc analysis can give us clues who would benefit from that treatment. If that subgroup is almost everyone diagnosed with ALS, what are waiting for? That therapy needs to get in people!
#NurOwn
If you are one of those people that believe
#NurOwn
doesn’t work, you are effectively calling me a liar. Think about that for a minute. You probably should reevaluate who you are listening to. I would trust someone who knows firsthand what this therapy can do over anyone else.
As a person living with ALS who can no longer walk, traveling by air is a stressful event that I dread. Traveled last week from/to LAX & DFW on
@AmericanAir
with my son. AA was so helpful & accommodating that I wanted to publicly acknowledge their compassion & service. Thank you!
For those that don’t know, I am actively doing something to improve clinical outcomes in
#ALS
. I will be co-chairing a global effort to develop better clinical outcome measures for
#ALS
.
#ActionsSpeak
We need to prioritize the development of
#ALS
outcome measures that can accurately give us answers about therapeutic efficacy. As long as ALSFRS-R is used in ALS clinical trials, we should expect results that are inconclusive and possibly incorrect.
#ALS
is an extremely heterogeneous disease, yet studies often lump us together using “mean” & “median” values for analysis. This is like saying all Toyotas get the same MPG regardless of model & year. We need more precision in ALS so a Prius doesn’t get compared to a 4Runner.
Seeing posts from people & orgs calling the NurOwn results “disappointing” or a “failure” because the data indicate the therapy is most effective for people with motor neurons to save. How is helping some people “disappointing” or a “failure” in ALS? This is a huge win for ALS!
Someone with
#ALS
would never say that “hope devastates” because we are already facing the most devastating future one could have. All we have is hope! Why are some people so committed to stealing hope from the people that need it most? Time to check yourself.
On this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all those relentless warriors living with ALS that fight each and every day to make progress in a disease that is 100% fatal with no effective treatments (approved) or cures.
Some people are critical of me & my friends posting about our positive experiences with
#NurOwn
, saying that you can’t believe what you read on social media. The irony is not lost on me that these critics use the same social media to spout their uninformed opinions to raise doubt
Would love to share my story with
@CBSLA
about how getting
#NurOwn
under
#EAP
has helped not only pause my
#ALS
progression, but how I am now able do things I had lost the ability to do… like buckle/unbuckle my seatbelt, take my pills by myself, & then there’s this👇🏻!
The
@CBSSunday
piece is only the beginning. If you are a patient or caregiver and willing to do TV, call your local CBS station assignment editor offering to do an interview & they can use your interview with part of the
@CBSSunday
piece.
@EvanCampa
locked in Nashville
@CBSNews
/1
We lost a great one yesterday.
@AugieNieto
was a friend & mentor who accepted me into the
@augiesquest
Family from day 1. We will proudly continue your Quest to cure ALS!
Been married to this amazing woman for 7 years today (been together for almost 14 years). I love her even more today than the day we said, “I do!” Happy Anniversary Mrs. Green!
@mrslambgreen
As someone who participated in the
@BrainstormCell
#NurOwn
trial and received six additional treatments under EAP, I am excited to share my firsthand experience at the upcoming
@US_FDA
AdComm. The biomarker data fully supports the benefits that I felt while on treatment.
I am extremely concerned for the future of
#ALS
drug development. Politics are driving opinions and some people are missing the fact that a therapy is actually having a meaningful effect on people’s disease progression and daily lives. I am not an anecdote!
Huge thank you to
@SouthwestAir
for making my travels from San Diego to New Orleans with my power wheelchair so smooth & easy today. Special shoutout to Dhara in SD and the crew of flight
#2160
.
Woke to the news about the passing of my friend
@PQuinnfortheWin
. Pat showed us that we could move mountains in this disease. We need to work with more urgency to save the lives of people with ALS!
Just read an activity summary from a leading
#ALS
org. Can we stop saying “finding a cure” & perpetuating the myth that there is going to be a singular cure for all people with ALS? Please start using “cure ALS” or “finding cures” instead. ALS is not a one-size-fits-all disease!
One year ago, August 30 2018, I received a confirmed diagnosis of ALS. I have lived so much and have met some of the most amazing people in the past year. Looking forward to doing even more in this next year.
#Diagnosiversary
#LiveLikeYourDying
Toileting with
#ALS
becomes difficult as you lose strength & function in your hands/arms. Started using plastic urinals after I fell at the toilet about 2 years ago. I’m still able to perform this function on my own, as long as I am wearing shorts.
#ALSReality
#ALSAwarenessMonth
Huge THANK YOU to the 7
#AMX0035
#AdCom
members that voted “yes” today. You understand the unmet need in
#ALS
& how important access to this therapy is to those of us living with ALS. For the 2 “no” voters… I have nothing for you other than a scowl.
When is
@US_FDA
going to stop looking for perfection in
#ALS
therapies? Until we redefine what “effective” means for ALS, we will continue the “failure” trend & therapies that help SOME will not get approved for the people that need them most!
#Toferson
#NurOwn
#AMX0035
Don’t assume the status quo is correct or that there aren’t better ways to do things. This is especially true when you are living with a terminal disease like
#ALS
. There is always room for better. Don’t be afraid to demand better. We deserve better!
Thank you
@AlaskaAir
for taking such good care of me & my power wheelchair last night on my trip from ONT to SEA. I was anxious about flying with my PWC but you delivered to me without a scratch.
For those hardliners who insist that today’s clinical trial science can truly determine efficacy in
#ALS
… what if you are wrong? Would you bet YOUR life on it? How about YOUR son, daughter, mother or father?
I do not like being called a PALS. Even though I am a friendly and likable guy (I’d like to think that I’m likable), I am not your pal. I am a person living with ALS (PLWALS). Please understand how condescending “pal” can sound.
I applaud
@FDA
CDER for exercising regulatory flexibility by asking
@AmylyxPharma
to submit an NDA. Now it’s time for
@FDACBER
to exercise the same regulatory flexibility & ask
@BrainstormCell
to submit a BLA for
#NurOwn
so people with
#ALS
get a chance to live to see more days.
We need a better balance of science & humanity when it comes to evaluating
#ALS
therapies. While research tries to achieve scientific perfection, my friends & I are dying. If a therapy helps some, that needs to be good enough until we have a better understanding of the science.
If we started calling compassionate use programs for
#ALS
“Expanded Access Studies”… would it be more clear that research & giving people hope can be done simultaneously?
#EAP
#EAS
Today, I was disparaged for my
#ALS
advocacy efforts just because someone had a different perspective. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I will continue to advocate for what I believe in regardless of what I’m called. Maybe that individual today just needs a hug.
Imagine being in a clinical trial that stopped the progression of your
#ALS
(3rd party data supported) & now have to wait a year+ before it may get FDA approval. While I wait, I am losing my ability to walk, speak, & breathe.
@HollyLynchez
your “FDA gatekeeping” is killing me.
Can we measure true efficacy of an
#ALS
therapy with tools like ALSFRS-R? Would you use a sledgehammer to drive a wood screw? It may appear to do the job, but will it hold if someone’s life depends on it? Until we find a “screwdriver” for ALS, we must consider any & all evidence!
5 months may not seem like a long time to a healthy person. For someone with ALS, it could be the difference between walking & being confined to a wheelchair, or breathing on your own & living off a ventilator, or living & dying. We need access to NurOwn on the ALS Clock!
Dear
@BrainstormCell
,
It’s been 5 months since
@Cylebo
said the company was open to an EAP. Two weeks since you reaffirmed that commitment on a public investor call and yet....nothing. No more words. Show us your commitment to pALS by making an EAP real now.
-Brian
Thank you
@US_FDA
for granting
@BrainstormCell
an
#AdCom
which will allow people like me to share our lived experiences with
#NurOwn
and how this novel therapy slowed/paused our
#ALS
progression while on treatment.
Nice to see such common sense legislation like the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act get passed in the Senate & the House. Let’s parlay that support for ALS into cosponsoring ACT for ALS (H.R.8662 & S.4867) while the devastation of ALS is still top of mind for legislators.
We need to stop pretending that everything in ALS Land is working perfectly. I appreciate my friends who dedicate their lives to understanding
#ALS
& develop therapies, but they don’t have all the answers. We have much more to learn before we start patting ourselves on the back.
This story. Tears.
@sandymorris333
is a best friend, my partner-in-ALS-crime, the female version of me. We can finish each other’s sentences. My wife affectionately calls Sandy my “ALS wife”. Love you Sandy!
"Nobody is trying to kill me."
In the grip of ALS, Sandy Morris wants to expand access to aid in dying so ending her life won't be a crime.
Read The Big Take ⬇️
When I first met Eric two years ago, his speech was rapidly declining & he was getting weaker each day. Today, his speech isn’t much different & he is only slightly weaker than he was then. This is real world evidence
@US_FDA
needs to consider.
#NurOwn
Eric can still get down on the floor to play w/ our 5 mo old daughter. He gets up by himself using the couch for help. 2 years ago, doctors said he probably wouldn’t be here. Well, not only is he here—he’s singing, laughing & playing w/ our little girl.
#LivingProof
#NurOwnWorks
ALS takes away your abilities & at some point you require help to do the simplest things. Four months ago, I needed to hire a caregiver to be with me during the day. Unfortunately, this is not covered by insurance. Any help would be appreciated.
It is time for the
#ALSCommunity
to take ownership of our disease and demand better! We need to redefine what a successful therapy looks like for our disease!
@US_FDA
’s current measure for efficacy in
#ALS
continues to fail us!
For complex diseases like
#ALS
incremental progress is often monumental. But
@US_FDA
would rather OK a drug with a 3% benefit to every patient than one that helps 20% of patients substantively. It's hard to see how any ALS drug can get thru that gauntlet
As a person living with
#ALS
, I want to thank
@survivorcbs
and
@yul_kwon
for raising ALS awareness by telling the story of
@SurvivorPenner
’s wife Stacy Title.
ALS is not an incurable disease... it is an underfunded one.
#EndALS
Congrats to everyone that has put in effort to get S.578 across the line and to the Senate floor for a vote where it passed 96 to 1! House of Representatives, you are next up with H.R.1407!
#WhyIFight
I fight for more time with my amazing wife,
@mrslambgreen
I fight to see my four children grow into the people they will become
I fight for everybody that has been chosen to carry the burden of
#ALS
I fight to find effective treatments and cures, and
#EndALS
Some will say there is no hope for people living with ALS.
F that. They don’t see what we see -- amazing communities fighting like hell to make hope real.
And we won't stop until we find cures.
#WhyIFight
Retweet this post, use
#WhyIFight
, and tell us why you keep fighting.
This news is unacceptable!
@US_FDA
&
@FDACBER
need to exercise its regulatory flexibility as outlined in its 2019
#ALS
Guidance! I know that
#NurOwnWorks
! My breathing has improved & stabilized in the past year while getting
#NurOwn
under
#EAP
.
We have indisputable biomarker evidence that
#NurOwn
has a treatment effect for those above 25 ALSFRS-R.
@BrainstormCell
needs to file a BLA with
@FDACBER
immediately. We don’t have any more time to waste!
#NurOwnWorks
Don’t believe anyone that says they have all the answers… they don’t. They are just trying to overwhelm you with their fancy words & unrelenting nonsense. Nobody has all the answers, especially when it comes to
#ALS
. I encourage people to use common sense to navigate the noise.
We need to look thru a new lens to determine
#ALS
therapeutic efficacy. Does ANY of the data provide evidence of the therapy’s efficacy for SOME? If the answer is YES, that NEEDS to be good enough. People are dying waiting to access these therapies that could extend their lives.
In a state of shock, disbelief & sadness that my good friend
@BryanWayneMusic
passed suddenly yesterday. He inspired me, pushed me, confided in me, motivated me & reminded me to always
#FindTheGoodStuff
. You are already missed, but will never be forgotten! Love you Brother!
It feels like when we enter the 4th quarter of our
#ALS
fight, we become insignificant & support is noticeably absent. Unfortunately, this is when we need the most support.
There is something wrong in our nation when people have to resort to gofundme and spaghetti suppers and bake sales to provide care and dignity for people living with ALS.
Join
@ALSTDI
at the 16th ALS TDI Summit at 3:40 p.m. ET on Friday, December 4th, as we honor our 2020 Leadership Award winners,
@pjgreen
,
@sandymorris333
, and
@BWayneGal
. You can read more about this year's award winners here
#ALSAwarenessMonth
(US version) is coming to a close and I have yet to see any national campaigns that speak to a broad audience not affected by
#ALS
. We need to break out of the ALS Community echo chamber and turn heartbreak into action!