Brianna Salgado was diagnosed with ALS at 24, a few months after giving birth to her second child. Now 30 and a single mother, she says her children keep her going; the disease has slowed her speech and left her with greatly reduced mobility.
Salgado says she left her husband after the diagnosis because he was not supportive of her needs. She now lives with her parents and her children, ages 6 and 8, and says she has not told them ALS is terminal. She also says a low fixed income makes it nearly impossible to create lasting memories with them.
In her sixth year with ALS, Salgado says doctors told her the prognosis is typically three to five years. She joined Her ALS Story, a nonprofit for women diagnosed before age 35, a little over a year ago. Its Cape Cod retreat this summer brought together 40 members; Salgado tried the ocean in a floating beach wheelchair there. She says she met a woman who has lived with ALS for 14 years.
