The OJC the Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1991-08-29

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The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
Serving Columbus 'and Central Ohio
kwish Community for Over 60 Years
VOLUME 69
NUMBER 35
AUGUST 29,1991
19 ELUL 5751
DEVOTED   TO   AMERICAN   AND   JEWISH    IDEALS
Sept. 22 Bqnds lunch
to honor four women
page 2
Failure of Soviet coup
gain for Jewish minority
page 3
Hoenlein to speak
at Federation meeting
page 4
Adult Mini School
to open Oct. 8
page 6
POSTAL UPDATE
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•     CUMP
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FIGHT AGAINST ALS
Local couple challenges devastating disease
By Kathy Leese
Most neurologists prefer not
to take on the challenge of a
disease as complex and frustrating as ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's
Disease. Most neurologists'
wives are even less involved
in their husband's work, let
alone something as emotionally draining as ALS. But then,
Mark and Janet Glasberg are
not your typical couple.
Dr. Glasberg is medical director of Neurosciehces at
Riverside Methodist Hospitals
in Columbus and is an expert
in the field of ALS, nationally
known for his work in that
area. Together he and his wife
share a passionate interest in
ALS and the patients and
families that they work with.
ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis, is a motor neuron
disease. It is characterized by
the degeneration of a select
group of nerve cells in the
brain and spinal cord which
leads to progressive paralysis
of muscles. The disease includes muscle weakness and
stiffness and eventual paralysis of muscles controlling vital
functions such as speech,
swallowing and respiration.'
Mental function is unaffected.
It is not a rare disease and affects both men and women,
young and old.
A native of Philadelphia,
Dr. Glasberg became interested in ALS after his graduation
from Jefferson Medical College, while a fellow in neuromuscular diseases. It was not,
however, until he was practic
ing neurology in Detroit that it
became his main focus. "In
my fellowship in neuromuscular diseases, I found ALS
patients to be quite fascinating. However, it was not until I
started at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and saw there
was a great void in patient
care, with no neurologist specializing in that area, that I
became increasingly more interested," he said.
EJr. Glasberg goes on to explain that "it was particularly
fascinating to me and was an
area that not only involved my
scientific interests in motor
neuron diseases, but also involved my interests in comprehensive patient care and
legal and ethical issues. I never thought of going into a less
demanding area of neurology,
because of my marked interest and fascination with Alii."
Janet Glasberg's interest in
ALS began even before she
met her husband, while work-"
ing in a VA hospital in Dallas,
Texas. She was involved in a
research project studying the
role of-lead in ALS. After the
two were married in 1983, it
became a true team effort.
Prior to his arrival in Columbus last fall, Dr. Glasberg
was director of the Henry J.
Hoenselaar ALS Clinic at Henry Ford Hospital. A multi-disciplinary clinic, it was considered a model, for other ALS
clinics across the country.
Dr. Glasberg is convinced
that the team approach to
ALS provides the best possible
care for the patient. "Since
there is so much we all do not
know about ALS, having a
group of people who have both
an interest and expertise in
the disease makes patient
care so much better. Our conference after clinic is quite important, and it is where a
treatment plan is developed.
Also, patients develop closer
relationships with some health
professionals than with others. For some people,-the social worker may be the best
counselor, while for others it is
the neurologist and for some
others, it may be the clinic coordinator," he explained.
The two have been touched
in different ways by their involvement with ALS patients
and their families. For Janet,
there was the first ALS patient
she met, a man, who she said,
"used to climb oil rigs and
then he could not change a
light bulb. This stark contrast
from the very strong to the
very weak fascinated me.
How do people emotionally
cope with this? I always enjoyed the patients I dealt with.
They made each day valuable ... something most of lis
forget to do."
Additionally, she -recalled
the woman who took care of
her husband, son and daughter, all of whom had ALS.
"What heartbreak that must
have been," she says. "When I
look through my computer list
of patients, I remember a special quality, sense of humor,
courage or dedication of each
one. I smile to myself thinking
of them."
For her husband, the patients act as.inspiration and
teachers. "I believe what I
find most enjoyable are the
patients themselves and how
courageous they are and what
they teach me about being human and living life," he said.
The couple are all too well
aware of the frustrations of
the disease. "The biggest
challenge of ALS is to constantly adjust to your body
changing," Janet explained.
"You have to be flexible and
creative. The one blessing is
that 95 percent of the patients
are mentally intact. As long as
they challenge themselves to
continue thinking, they can
still be productive people."
For her husband, there is
yet another angle. "The most
frustrating thing, obviously, is
that the disease is so severe
and virtually all of my patients will eventually die. In
addition, the disabilities occur
so rapidly that as soon as one
problem may be improved or
stabilized, for example, by either therapy or orthotics, then
a new disability occurs which
worsens the situation," he noted.
"It is difficult not to have a
simple answer such as 'take
this medication and you will
get better." However, I have
found that by being honest and
truthful with people and letting them know I am a resource for information as well
as support to them and'that I
will do whatever I can to help
them have the highest quality
of life possible during the dis-
- ease, then most patients are
satisfied with what I can do,"
.see COUPLE pg. 16   . ■