Honoring the Women Who Carry the ALS Journey

March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the strength, resilience, and impact of women in every part of our lives. For me, it’s an opportunity to honor the many women who helped my dad navigate life with ALS and who carried our family through the hardest years of the disease.

When I reflect on my dad’s ALS journey, what stands out most is not just the progression of the disease, but the women who stood beside him, and beside all of us, every single day.

ALS was relentless. It changed our daily lives in ways that were exhausting, unpredictable, and often overwhelming. There were emergency room visits, long hospital stays, late nights, and routines that became part of our normal. But through every stage of the disease, there was a steady presence of strength, compassion, and resilience of the women in his life that never wavered. 

My mom was the heart of his care. She carried the primary responsibility for his day-to-day needs while also holding our household together. Caregiving wasn’t occasional – it was a constant responsibility that required patience, sacrifice, and emotional strength. She managed appointments, coordinated care, navigated extended hospital stays, and continued working full-time as a financial advisor while making sure her children had everything they needed. They could still experience the normal parts of growing up. The only moments she seemed to rest truly were when we were driving somewhere, and she could finally close her eyes for a few minutes. Beyond what people could see, she carried the emotional and financial weight of our family. Even when she was exhausted or overwhelmed, she kept showing up. There were no days off from ALS, but her love for my dad and for all of us never faltered.

My grandmother showed a different kind of strength. She had an instinct for when we needed support and stepped in without hesitation. Sometimes she stayed with us for weeks at a time, helping with the household and making sure we, as kids, were cared for. Her presence created stability during moments that could have easily felt chaotic.

My sisters grew up alongside the disease. They showed compassion and maturity beyond their years, supporting my dad in practical and emotional ways while also trying to live their own lives. They helped with his care, supported my mom, and still managed to bring lightness and normalcy into our home. Their resilience often showed up quietly, such as in the responsibilities they carried without complaint and in the steady support they offered our family.

And then there were the caregivers, many of them women, who became part of our family. They helped with feeding, bathing, dressing, and the countless daily tasks ALS requires. But they also brought warmth and steadiness into our home. They weren’t just providing care; they were trusted, compassionate presences who created stability in an otherwise uncertain reality. We still talk about them and stay in touch with some even today. That says everything about the role they played in our lives.

As a child, I may not have had the words for the emotional and physical labor the women in my life were carrying, but I felt it deeply. I could feel the exhaustion and the weight of it all, but through it all, I also felt the love, consistency, and protection they poured into our home every day. Looking back, I see how much their strength went unseen – the long nights, the planning, the worrying, and the quiet sacrifices that made my dad’s care possible every single day.

Watching them shaped me. It taught me that love isn’t just about the easy moments but about showing up consistently, even when every day brings something unpredictable. It showed me empathy and how to recognize what others might be carrying, even when they don’t say it — or can’t. It showed me that caregiving is one of the purest expressions of love and strength, even when it happens quietly and without recognition.

In the day-to-day reality of ALS, it’s easy to lose sight of hope. The routines are heavy. The progression is relentless. The uncertainty can feel overwhelming. But the women in my dad’s life never stopped showing up with love, and that love carried us forward.

Today, through Target ALS, I see that same steady commitment. There’s a refusal to accept the status quo and a determination to move science forward. Even when ALS makes hope feel distant, Target ALS keeps that hope alive through its work in research. That forward momentum matters deeply to the families and caregivers who carry so much every single day.

This Women’s History Month, I invite you to reflect on the women who have shaped your own ALS journey. The mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and advocates who have shown up with strength and compassion. Their impact deserves to be seen and honored.

Submitted by Ryan Salinas 

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