May, Kenya — this ALS Awareness month, a silent yet mighty movement is emerging in Kenya--a movement based on compassion, awareness and the great necessity to know more about a disease that remains mostly unknown until one has been infected. Motor neuron disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive brain disorder and spinal cord disorder of the nerves that affect the motor neurons, and slowly deprive the sufferer of the capability to move, talk, eat and even breathe.

Although ALS is not deemed widespread, its effects on the patients and families are extensive. In Kenya, there is not much awareness and people cannot identify the early signs for receiving treatment. This month reminds that every diagnosis has a human story of courage and bravery.

To most Kenyan families, the ALS journey starts with mild symptoms such as muscle weakness, twitching or problems with speech. These are symptoms that have been confused with less serious diseases thus resulting in the delay in diagnosis. Patients might have already developed considerable physical difficulties by the time ALS is diagnosed. Therefore, education is necessary to identify the symptoms.

Doctors in Kenya wants ALS to be given more focus. Even though the disease is not curable now, new medical science has made it possible that the disease slow down and increase the quality of life. Multidisciplinary care (neurologists, physiotherapists, speech therapy, nutritional specialists) may be a significant difference to patients who have to cope with this complex disorder.

Nevertheless, the access is not even. Most patients have to travel long distances to urban areas in search of specialized services and this causes financial and emotional burdens to the family. Also, the expenditure on continuing care, assistive technology, and supportive care can be daunting. This fact emphasizes the necessity of enhanced healthcare systems and more accommodating assistance networks in the nation.

ALS Awareness Month does not necessarily concern knowing the disease but also creating an empathetic community. Patient advocates and caregivers are speaking out to end silence around ALS across Kenya. The human connection is both hard and strong as seen in their stories. Family members that most often become caregivers are important in the daily support, but they also need resources, advice, and emotional support.
The educational campaigns this month are based on simple yet effective messages: to learn the early symptoms, seek medical consultation in time, and treat the affected person without stigmatization. Healthcare organizations, schools and community organizations are also getting involved in awareness campaigns which are bringing ALS to the fore.

Technology is also contributing towards better patient care. Since telemedicine consultations to assistive communication devices, the innovations are assisting ALS patients to retain their independence and dignity as long as they can. However, the availability of these technologies in some regions of Kenya is still low, which supports the necessity of joint action between the government and the business.

This is where the world healthcare facilitators are intervening to fill in the gaps. Organizations can offer hope where local resources may fail to meet by linking patients to more complex treatment options and expertise across the globe. Specialty care in foreign countries has become a significant option to Kenyan patients, especially those with sophisticated neurological disorders such as ALS.

The central message of this awareness month is a very simple and yet effective fact that no one is supposed to fight ALS in solitude. It is all in the effort to ensure that the process is not as isolating as it could be, and whether it can be through the help of the community, better access to healthcare, or international cooperation, all the efforts are welcome to make the process less overwhelming to both the patient and their families.

GetWellGo, a reputable medical travel facilitator, is joining Kenyan patients in ALS Awareness Month by assisting them in investigating innovative treatment choices and linking them with qualified experts. The idea of making it easy to find care in foreign countries, as well as providing tailored advice, is the goal that GetWellGo is determined to achieve so that patients and their families could not only feel comfortable throughout their process, but they would also feel that they are not alone in their experience.

GetWellGo has been and remains an important part in this journey of enlightenment and compassion - making healthcare in the world seem like a real and tangible part of Kenyan patients and ensuring that even with ALS, hope is never far away.