Retired dentist Marshall Lindner Brings a Positive Outlook to his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Diagnosis—Inspiring Hope for Others
Diagnosed in May 2014, Dr. Marshall Lindner, a retired dentist, is one of the 6,400 Americans diagnosed with ALS or ‘Lou Gehrig’s disease’ each year. He is being treated at the internationally-renowned ALS/MDA Neuromuscular Center in Charlotte, NC, part of Carolinas HealthCare System’s Neurosciences Institute.
He realizes that as the disease progresses, causing muscle weakness, he will have difficulty eating. “Knowing that I will have a feeding tube sometime this year, I have been eating anything and everything under the sun,” he says. “It’s the first time in 30 years I can order a cheeseburger and fries in front of my wife and not get any grief.”
It is his sense of humor that makes Dr. Lindner’s story and journey so special—one important to share with others who may face a similar diagnosis and condition. “He has been able to stay positive, he really chooses to be happy, despite everything he is going through,” says Nichole Lucas RN Program Coordinator.
Dr. Lindner describes his life as wonderful, he has an incredible wife (who he met in high school), three sons and eight grandchildren. “I look at my diagnosis as a wake-up call. God has said to me, ‘Your time is limited; get out there and do all those things on your bucket list.’ So that’s exactly what I intend to do,” he says.
Dr. Lindner says, “With the help of the ALS clinic and their entire staff my quality of life has not suffered at all and in fact may have been enhanced by the diagnosis. My hope is that they can find a cure for ALS but my life is wonderful, I am still able to get around and do all the things I always wanted to do…except for Dancing with the Stars”.