\u201cI felt as if I had just been told not only that I would die, but that I would be tortured to death, and that it would drag out over several years,\u201d he told Reason TV<\/a>. \u201cI’ve cared for all sorts of people with terminal illnesses, and I couldn’t imagine a more horrific disease to die from than ALS.\u201d<\/p>\n ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech. According to the Mayo Clinic,<\/a> because the disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, patients slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk, and breathe independently.<\/p>\n There’s no cure for ALS, and people usually live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now<\/a>!<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got my diagnosis, I had a vision of my own death: I would be choking on my own saliva, gasping for air, unable to communicate my needs, my eyes filling with panic, as my family and friends looked on helplessly,\u201d Boal explained.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery waking moment, I veered between an overwhelming sense of dread and near-total panic,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I came to realize that I didn’t fear death; I feared being imprisoned in a body that had died around me.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the grim news, a year after his diagnosis, Boal said the joy returned to his life. Not only from his loved ones and therapy, but thanks to the knowledge that he can end his own life with medical aid in dying \u201cwhen my suffering becomes unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Man in a wheelchair<\/p>\n With MAID, terminally ill adults who are of sound mind and have been approved by at least two doctors can receive a prescription for a lethal medication. It is different from euthanasia because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor.<\/p>\n MAID laws have been authorized in California, Colorado, Oregon, Illinois, Washington, Montana, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington D.C.<\/p>\n In December 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul<\/a> announced an agreement with the state’s legislative leaders to make MAID available. She expressed her intent to sign the bill with proposed amendments to the bill. If the bill passes, it would make New York the twelfth state to allow terminally ill<\/a> people to choose medical aid in dying.<\/p>\n Boal told the outlet that he was initially prepared to move to another state if he didn\u2019t have access to MAID, but he\u2019s at \u201cpeace\u201d knowing he\u2019ll die on his own terms.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce MAID becomes legal in New York in 2026, I will have the privilege of creating the exact conditions I want for my own death,\u201d he shared. \u201cI want to be out in the field with our animals, watching tree swallows and bluebirds fly in and out of their boxes. I want my wife and my daughters by my side.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e0c61968f41251ac65c45fe2e5f2a8c6.jpeg\"\/)
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