Woman thinks husband is “uncoordinated”—Then came the devastating diagnosis

Allie Coultas once laughed at what she thought was her husband Eric’s “incredibly uncoordinated” attempt at a workout move.

A video posted to Instagram captured that lighthearted moment, but now, it serves as a reminder of the early, unrecognized signs of a terminal illness that would soon change their lives forever. Coultas, 35, spoke to Newsweek about her and her husband’s journey to his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, and how the two have navigated life-changing news alongside each other.

“Laughing because I thought he was incredibly uncoordinated in this move, not because he was two months away from a terminal diagnosis,” Coultas captioned the reel. “This is what early stages of ALS looks like. His legs were so spastic and his reflexes so overactive, he couldn’t correctly do this exercise. ALS was not on our radar yet and Eric hadn’t fully expressed just how worried he was about what was happening in his body.”

Speaking to Newsweek, Coultas provided more context about that day.

“At the time of that video, Eric was trying out a quick move in a workout I was doing, it was a lunge jump to a knee drive,” she said. “He was saying, ‘Is this how you do it?’ And I said, ‘No not at all!’ So, I took the video of him to show him how wrong he had it. In the moment, we laughed and chalked it up to he just really couldn’t master that move.”

The reality, unknown to them at the time, was far more serious.

“Eric was getting ready to go for a run,” Coultas recalled. “He could tell he was feeling different, like something was off, so he started running again in hopes it would help him feel stronger…We knew it was something serious when he couldn’t go for a run without falling.”

In hindsight, the reason Eric couldn’t do the exercise move in the video was because the clonus in his legs and spasticity were preventing it. “Those with ALS have heightened responses in their reflexes, so that was what was giving him that ‘jolt’ look,” she said.

Eric was 33 at the time of his ALS diagnosis; he is now 38.

‘Living With ALS Is a Marathon’

The couple’s reality is now a far cry from that video in the summer of 2020. Living with ALS has been an immense challenge, Coultas said.

“We had the rug ripped out from us and what we thought our life was going to look like. For a long time, we grieved the life we were ‘supposed to have’ and come to terms with being grateful for the life we still do have,” she said. “We’ve had to completing change our path and what our purpose is…Living with ALS is a marathon not a sprint.”

The impact on Eric’s life has been profound. From being an avid motorcyclist and athletic person, he has had to give up some of his biggest passions.

But despite the “worst case scenario diagnosis,” as Coultas described it, the couple have found ways to cope and create meaning.

” I was a nervous wreck and felt our life was over,” she admitted of the time leading up to the diagnosis. “Life doesn’t end the moment you receive a diagnosis such as this. It rocks your world and changes everything, but there is still joy to be felt and memories to be made.”

Eric, an artist, has channeled his experience into a powerful project. Using 3D printing, he has been able to create stunning portraits of those living with ALS and those who have died due to ALS. The portraits are part of a larger installation called “Flickering Souls: Illuminating ALS.”

“It feels like his life’s work and what he’s been called to do in order to raise more awareness for this terrible disease,” Coultas concluded. Eric’s work can be found on Instagram @illuminatingals.