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I'm so sorry that you are going through this! A close family friend, who was like a grandfather to me, passed away from ALS a few years ago. It is a heartbreaking disease since there is no cure and progresses so rapidly.

Does he have a family? Can you treat them to an outing at the zoo or restaurant gift cards? I'm thinking something that they can do together. If no family, ready made meal delivery service or something to help at home. If he isn't already, he will likely be in a wheelchair at some point. Our friend also lost ability to talk and has to use a computer that he typed into and it would talk for him.

The ALS Association in your area should also be a great resource. You could coordinate a group in his name for one of their walks to raise money. They usually have support groups too. Sorry for all the ideas. My local ALS Association was a client of mine for a few years, so I became very familiar with what they do. I wish you strength in supporting your friend.

I'm so sorry.

My husband's brother was diagnosed with ALS shortly after our wedding and died 9 months later. He left behind his wife and 3 young kids. It's such a horrible disease and I think it can be so isolating for a young person especially.

It's wonderful that you're visiting with him because I think that many people just don't know what to do or feel awkward and sort of fade out of the person's life. I would think that just being present in his life would be huge. It totally depends on your relationship and his current health, but my BIL had friends who would come over and just watch movies with him all the time just to keep him company. Great ideas to check for ALS association events in your area too. They are really active and we still have a team for my BIL for the local walk every year.

It's so hard to think of specific things but just being there in person, through email, texts, phone calls, whatever is so huge. My BIL had a lot of support but I think some people regretted not being more involved after he had passed. I heard a lot of people say that they just didn't know how sick he was.

You and your friend will be in my thoughts