ALS sufferer undergoes operation to make swallowing food easier

Bjorn Formosa, who has made a name for himself in his fight against the ALS condition, yesterday underwent an operation to make swallowing food easier.

Writing on his Facebook page, Bjorn said: “The next step in ALS is when the swallowing muscles start weakening and one starts getting problems to swallow down foods.

“At this point you have to stop eating, lose your palate and start feeding through a gastronomy tube.

“That’s the reason of my admission to hospital for a RIG/PEG tube operation which I’ll be having tomorrow morning. A tube will be inserted inside my stomach from which I’ll be fed. It’s true not being able to taste food anymore but I guess we’ll have to add another one to the list!

“Time is really running out BUT it just means that we need to give it one more push in the coming days to continue giving the best chances to the increasing number of ALS patients in Malta.

“You can always send an SMS costing €4.66 on 5061 8170 while in the coming days we’ll be announcing the date for this year’s fund raising marathon. Giving it a fight till the end!”

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and motor neurone disease (MND), causes the death of neurons which control voluntary muscles.

ALS is characterized by stiff muscles and gradually worsening weakness. This results in difficulty in speaking, swallowing and eventually breathing.