Hockey icon and wife Pia talk about life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
This summer, it was announced that hockey legend Borgy Salming had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Today, his condition is so bad that he can no longer speak – and needs tube feeding.
In an interview with Expressen, Salming and his wife, Bea, talked about conflict in everyday life.
– It hurts every day to see how bad the purée is, she tells the newspaper.
One of Sweden’s greatest hockey symbols, Puree SalmingLast summer, he announced that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Six months ago he was feeling that something was wrong. He started to get nervous when he spoke and needed to take a break to catch his breath.
– I received a message that shook my life and my family, he said in a statement to TT.
Since then the disease has escalated and today the condition is so bad that he is being tube-fed because he is no longer able to eat and to speak he uses a speech synthesizer on his Ipad.
Pia Salming on the daily struggle
In an interview with Expressen, Salming spoke with his wife, Pia, about the daily struggles and living with the disease.
Today he can still make the bed, water the flowers, and if he sits he can get dressed by himself, but with each passing week, Bea notices that the condition is getting worse.
– Can not be described. Seeing the person you love feels so bad… and you can’t do anything. It hurts every day to see how bad Börje is. And that frustration – we hardly have time, she tells the newspaper.
He is not entitled to a personal assistant
In the interview, Pia says that Samling is being tube-fed to get enough energy. If you lose a lot of weight, the disease gains the upper hand more quickly. Within two months, Salming lost 10 kilograms, but with tube feeding, he is now maintaining his weight.
Pia explains that she feels there was no plan from Börje after he left the hospital. Today he has home care, but because he is over 65, he is not entitled to a personal assistant.
– Do politicians mean that you should work until you are 68, but if you become terminally ill after 65, you should not be allowed to live a decent life until you die?
In the interview, Expressen asks if Salming has any compliments for his supporters. He presses the buttons on his iPad, and the speakers hear:
“I think about you.”