TransFatty Lives (2015)

At 30, Patrick O’Brien was TransFatty, a New York City DJ, internet personality, and filmmaker. He spent his days as a beer-drinking creative force, making art films about perverts, vulnerable souls, and Howard Johnson’s restaurants...
Then his legs started shaking.





Defying sentimentality, TRANSFATTY LIVES takes you on an emotional rollercoaster from Patrick’s wild, fun-loving days into the dark heart of ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Given 2 to 5 years to live, Patrick first loses his ability to walk, then move his arms, then to swallow, and even to breathe.

 

The Theory of Everything

From Fandango: "James Marsh's biopic of the celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything, stars Eddie Redmayne as the famous figure. Enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge, Hawking establishes himself as one of the leading minds of his generation, and begins to win the heart of Jane (Felicity Jones). After one of his earliest breakthroughs, Hawking is diagnosed with ALS, and he becomes less and less able to control his own body. With the loyal Jane at his side, he continues his work. However, as the years progress, Jane starts to feel more like a nurse than a wife, and Hawking begins to have feelings for a woman who is hired to care for him. The Theory of Everything screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The NY Times Review.

This movie presents a picture of a most unusual case of ALS -- a > 50 year survival (normal course is 2 - 4 years).  It shows how this devastating disorder impacts on the patient and his family. There is a saying, "the disease affects the patient; the illness impacts on the entire fabric of the family."  The Theory of Everything is not about theoretical physics.  The film is entertaining, not deep.  2 hours and 3 minutes  2014

The Man Who Learned to Fall

The Man Who Learned to Fall is a feature documentary about a gifted writer and sought after teacher who celebrates the wonder of life even as he is slowly dying of a fatal neuromuscular condition. At the age of 35, Philip Simmons learned that he had ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Married, with two young children and a promising career as an English Professor and writer, he was told that he had less than five years to live.

The Man Who Learned to Fall won two awards at the Inter-national Health and Medical Media Awards in 2005 and was voted best film in the category of Coping, as well as the Michael E. DeBakey Award (for Outstanding Educational Entry).

To order a copy, go to Beitel/Lazar Productions

So Much So Fast

A black-humored cliffhanger of romance, guerrilla science and the redefinition of time, So Much So Fast unfolds like a nonfiction novel. Stephen Heywood finds out he has ALS. His brother Jamie becomes obsessed with finding a cure. And the woman who’s falling in love with Stephen has a decision to make. Wonderful film about a difficult and horrible disease. 90 Minutes

This story is also told in a fine book, "His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine" by Jonathan Weiner.