Facing the Future

In the August/September issue, you asked about looking upon a difficult future and finding something that helped. My husband, who had ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], passed away last year. I didn't want him to be forgotten but also realized that some family members found it difficult to talk about him. So, last Christmas, I prepared a trivia contest of funny and/or interesting facts about their dad/grampa with the prizes being something small that had been his.

There were 13 questions that were a combination of true/false, multiple choice, and one-word answers. I included things about his past that they may not have known or forgotten. For instance, what was his first job, the name of the girl he was engaged to before he met me, and where he served in the Army. There were prizes for all, with the person getting the most correct answers picking first and on down from there.

It turned out to be a lot of fun with lots of laughs, and I'm thinking this may be a yearly tradition. It definitely got them to open up and talk about him, which warmed my heart. —Sharon Moyer, Lancaster, PA

Insight Into Symptoms

This morning, I read your article, “What is Alice in Wonderland Syndrome?” by Sari Harrar (October/November 2025) and discovered that I probably have a milder version of the same condition, Alice in Wonderland syndrome, or Todd's syndrome.

It started in 1981 when I was at work, chatting with co-workers, and suddenly I felt as if the left side of my body switched places with the right side. I tried to describe it to the people I was with, and they all acted like I was crazy. It's happened several more times over the years, not lasting very long, but it's a weird sensation. So thank you for this article, which probably explains what has been happening. I wish my old co-workers could read it and think, “Okay, she wasn't crazy after all.” —Christine O'hare, Chicopee, MA

Transformative Treatment

I am so glad you published an article about infusion therapies. After suffering from many varieties of migraines since childhood, and “failing” on too many pills to count, my quarterly injection of Vyepti [eptinezumab-jjmr] has been a game-changer.

I've been told that the pills and the self-injected shots in the thigh that I tried for years all contain the same medicine as Vyepti, an anti-CGRP [calcitonin gene-related peptide] solution. But those pills and shots did nothing to prevent or abort one more migraine. I lived with them, built my life around them, retired early because of them—until one day in 2021, when I walked into an infusion center (first at a local hospital, later at a medical clinic) to try one more thing. All I do is lie back in a recliner and read a book while a nurse inserts a line that brings the drug directly to my bloodstream.

I am not exaggerating when I say that, for me, Vyepti has been a miracle. It is not inexpensive, and I am grateful for Medicare and my Part B supplement for covering the cost. I never thought I would be able to say that I haven't had a migraine for over four years. It may not work for everyone, but I urge other migraineurs to ask their providers about it. It gave me my life back. —Pam Kress-Dunn, Dubuque, IA

Grateful for Hope

I was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 76. I am otherwise in great physical condition, but my reaction to my weekly infusions is uncomfortable to say the least, especially in the four to six hours after my infusions ([I feel] kind of lost, sleep for hours midday, feel angst, and [am] mentally rather vacuous) and for a few days afterwards.

Thanks for the search for treatments. While uncomfortable, I am grateful to be useful—and remain hopeful. —Dan Pollock, Toledo, OH

Sharing Advice

Please tell the subjects of the story, “Sibling Caregivers are Supporting Brothers and Sisters Through Chronic Conditions,” (August/September 2025), Mia and Sarah Rosenbaum, to be extra vigilant about their heart health as they go into adulthood. My daughter, like them, was also born at 27 weeks. She survived and thrived and was doing graduate studies when she suddenly died of a heart attack at age 37. No doctor had told her that preemies are at extra risk for heart problems as they get older. —Glenn Shaw, Battle Creek, MI

Thank you for the magazine that is very useful for people with neurological diseases.

I read in the letters section of the last Brain & Life that a patient with trigeminal neuralgia due to shingles has been suffering since a year ago. My husband has trigeminal neuralgia in both sides of the face (he has multiple sclerosis), and I have seen the suffering of this pain for many years.

The reason I am writing is to let her know that gamma knife and balloon compression [exist]. My husband had been treated by two wonderful doctors in Miami, and now he is pain-free. —Anisia Ramos, Miami, FL