PHOTO: TV4 + Bildbyrån
Börje Salming is going through the toughest match of his life right now.
The hockey icon is fighting the incurable nerve disease ALS.
– It is very tough for a person who is so strong, says Salming’s doctor Caroline Ingre to TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon.
It was in August that Börje Salming got the message no one wants. The hockey icon had suffered from the terrible nerve disease ALS and since then the course of the disease has progressed very quickly.
Börje’s disease
Just a week ago, the 71-year-old showed himself to the public and it became known that the condition had worsened drastically. One of Swedish hockey’s biggest legends can no longer talk or eat by himself.
The article continues after the picture.
In the last week, Salming has been showered with love from the entire Swedish people and the warm support has spread all the way to North America as well. On Wednesday morning, Börje’s doctor visits Caroline Ingre The TV4 program Nyhetsmorgon to tell more about his condition and the disease ALS which affects thousands every year.
– Unfortunately, the disease cannot be cured, so he gets worse and worse. It is very tough for a person who is so strong and has been used to being so strong, she says in the program.
READ MORE: Swedish hockey unites in a beautiful decision – so the whole country must help Börje Salming: “One of the foremost”
ALS cure
Ingre is both a senior physician and researcher in ALS at Karolinska Institutet and can therefore talk in more detail about ALS and how devastating it can be for both the victim and the family all around.
– You need help with, for example, getting a glass of water or brushing your teeth. But needs to be there and be at hand, she says in the interview.
– It is an incurable disease. You live for about three years after the first symptom, so it goes quickly, it can go faster and slower for different individuals. But there is an incredible amount of research and Sweden is a very active country when it comes to ALS.
The article continues after the picture.
Börje Salming’s doctor is also asked directly how long it may take until a cure is in place to help everyone with ALS.
– I really want to say within a few years, but I think so if the research continues as intensively as it is doing. If we researchers, across many different countries, continue to collaborate and contribute information to each other, we will reach much further. It is also the reason why research is moving forward, so within a few years I say.
READ MORE: Lidström’s emotional meeting with Börje Salming – this is how the hockey icon feels today: “He talks with his eyes”