Caroline Tredway's sister, Nell Hardy, is currently living with ALS. In response to her sister's #EveryDropAddsUp story, Caroline submitted her own essay, titled  "Every Thought Counts."

Every Thought Counts

Picture, for a moment, that you’re in a straitjacket. You can’t move any limb to free yourself. All day and night long.

That’s how I imagine my younger sister Nell has felt over the past seven years as she battles the biggest foe of her life: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS.

I think of Nell when I do the simplest of things that are out of reach for her.

When I get out of bed in the morning.
Stir my coffee.
Call a friend.
Swat a fly.
Turn my head.
Advance my Kindle.
Walk.
Talk.
Type.
Chew.
Stretch.
Clap.
Hug.
Breathe.

Nell is cared for by amazing nurses 24/7. She breathes with the help of a ventilator. She’s in her behemoth of a wheelchair, nicknamed Bessie, from morning till night—most times with her companion Chihuahua Rico on her lap. The only way she can communicate is with her Tobii Dynavox speech-generating device. Electronic gadgets have become her lifeline. So has her gastric feeding tube through which she receives her daily meals and meds.

And yet still most days she remains positive that a cure for this heinous disease is within reach. I hope and pray with all my might that she’s right.

They can’t do it, but we certainly can.