Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 September 2019
This paper recounts the author’s conversations with Ryan Farnsworth, a 30-year-old ALS patient who consented to be interviewed for the purpose of improving communication between physicians and patients. Under the California End of Life Option (ELOA), the patient had been prescribed medication that would allow him to end his life at a time of his choosing. He describes coping with the challenges of the illness, how he will make the decision when to take the drugs and what he hopes will be his legacy.
Acknowledgements: This paper, part of the project Improving Care for ALS Patients by Assessing Their Attitudes Toward End-of-Life Decision Making, was supported by a grant from the Hearst Foundations.
The author would like to acknowledge Sutter Health’s Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research and Treatment Center for their support and assistance in this project.