End of life nurse reveals worst and best diseases to die from

If there’s one disease McFadden doesn’t hesitate to call the worst, it’s ALS — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.“This is the cruelest death I’ve ever seen,” Julie told Problem Solved last year.

And it’s not hard to understand why. ALS slowly shuts down every voluntary muscle in the body. Over time, patients lose the ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually, even breathe. But what makes it especially tragic is that the mind stays sharp. People are trapped in a failing body, fully aware of what’s happening.

“Watching someone you love fade like that, knowing they’re still in there? It’s devastating,” one commenter wrote, reflecting on her father’s battle with the disease.

By 2030, an estimated 36,300 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with ALS. While it’s still considered a relatively rare disease, it progresses quickly—half of those diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND) will die within 14 months of their diagnosis.

The condition is always fatal, and there’s currently no cure. However, the timeline varies widely — some people decline rapidly within months, while others may live for several years after being diagnosed.