\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \tRelated story \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tWhitney Port Tearfully Opens Up About the Emotional Reality of Caregiving for Her Mother\t\t<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n \t \n\t\u201cMy mom has ALS, and there\u2019s a point in time while we were shooting the show<\/a>, and I remember going into the writers\u2019 room and saying, \u2018I don\u2019t know which of my moms will pass away first,\u2019 between my mom versus my TV mom,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n \n\tThe ALS Association<\/a> defines amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as a progressive disease that disrupts the signals between a person\u2019s brain and their muscles. Over time, everyday actions like walking, speaking, swallowing, and eventually breathing become increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s currently no cure for ALS, but there are several FDA-approved treatments<\/a> to help manage symptoms and slow the disease\u2019s progression.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBrown said that managing his mother\u2019s care brought up disagreements among his siblings \u2014 something Pearson family fans know well.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd a lot of strange parallels were happening between Randall<\/a> and myself,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \n\tAralean lost her speech a few months after her diagnosis in 2018. Even though she can no longer talk, Brown said he and his siblings are committed to doing what she wants.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHer mind is still present,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if it takes us a bit longer to get the information, then it takes us a little bit longer. But making sure each step of the journey, we are honoring what she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBrown\u2019s mother has lived with ALS far longer than doctors expected. In past interviews, he\u2019s talked about her strength and how she opened her home to foster and adopt his younger siblings, Robert and Ariel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tEven with her illness, he said her attitude hasn\u2019t changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe joy that my mom is able to hold on to, in the midst of this incredibly debilitating disease, the smile that she still has for the people who walk into her sphere is radiant,\u201d Brown told NPR<\/em><\/a> <\/em>in 2024.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt shows you, shows me, that first of all, I don\u2019t have to allow circumstances to dictate how I am in the world, that I still have choice,\u201d he continued. \u201cI may not have [a] choice over what my \u2014 what the circumstances are, but how I respond to them. And my mom has been a shining example of how to maintain radiance in the midst of a very difficult situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Whitney](\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-sheknows-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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\n<\/section>\n<\/p>\n\n\t\tWhat is ALS?\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tSibling Dynamics and Caregiving\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tA Radiant Spirit\t<\/h2>\n