Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming's condition declining rapidly; family frustrated with access to care

Just two months after announcing he's dealing with ALS (also knows as Lou Gehrig's disease) it appears the health of NHL legend Borje Salming is in rapid decline. His family decided to grant an interview to Expressen, the first since he announced his diagnosis in early August. They state the Hockey Hall-of-Famer is already no longer able to speak or eat on his own.

At the beginning of the interview, Salming, once named one of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players Ever, used a speech synthesizer on his iPad to tell his supporters he was thinking of them. He then burst into tears.

Salming's wife Pia explained that he gets most of his nourishment through a tube now, adding his body is weakening at a fast pace.

"We were told that markers in the spinal fluid can be used to measure how aggressive ALS it is. Lower is better," said Pia. "Patients who can live a long time with ALS, upwards of seven years, have around 500 such markers. Borje's value was over 1,500. Three times as high."

Pia added she can see a major difference in her husband from one week to the next.

"It cannot be described. Seeing the person you love feel this bad and you can't do anything. It is a pain every day to see how bad Börje is. And this frustration – we're running out of time."

"I leave him for an hour or so, I go downstairs and train or go out and walk. But it's clear, you always have this worry, that something will happen," Pia explained. "But there is no care at home that works for people who are sick with ALS. And I'm so f--king frustrated and pissed off and sad, this is so sick."

"We are completely exhausted, the whole family. We've done just about everything, and he's only getting worse."

Pia told Expressen she still works as a police officer, but cut her shifts back in order to be home more often with her husband. Salming is likely best known to NHL fans for his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he still hold numerous records with the team. He also played one season with the Detroit Red Wings before retiring from the league. In addition to being in the Hockey Hall of Fame and being named one of the greatest 100 hockey players ever, Salming is also in the IIHF Hall of Fame and was named to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team in 2008. His number 21 is retired by the Maple Leafs.

Source: Expressen

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