I am Chip Carton
a family member in a familial ALS family,
living with ALS
Pennsylvania
“They had me go in for a brain tumor,” he said, “and the doctor came in and said, ‘Oh no, you don't have brain cancer.’ So, I was elated.”
“It makes you look at life a different way.” – Chip Carton on living with ALS
When Chip Carton arrived at his doctor’s office in 2008, he was 47 and feared the worst.
“They had me go in for a brain tumor,” he said, “and the doctor came in and said, ‘Oh no, you don’t have brain cancer.’ So, I was elated.”
The doctor had more testing in store. ‘But I do want you go down the hall to the ALS clinic,’” Chip recalls.
Chip said he was completely unfamiliar with ALS at the time.
“I was still just sitting on high,” he said. “Then the final person came in and said, ‘This must be a very hard and long day for you.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ ‘I just found out I didn’t have brain cancer.’”
Today, at age 59, Chip has been living with ALS for 12 years, and he says his disease has been slow progressing relative to most people diagnosed with ALS. “I’m one of the lucky ones to last this long,” he said.
Chip explained what he means when he says he’s one of the lucky ones.
