Broadneck Mom Shares Her ALS Story

Two weeks shy of her 40th birthday, Rachel Martin received life-changing news on March 21, 2022: she had ALS.

There is currently no cure or treatment that halts progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which slowly removes a person’s ability to talk, walk, eat and breathe.

Martin communicates by using her eyes. In honor of ALS Awareness Month, she shared her story with the Voice. For the wife and mother of three kids, symptoms began at least 18 months prior to getting a diagnosis.

“I went to a lot of doctors trying to figure out what was wrong,” Martin said. “I would fall easily and had trouble with my balance. I was losing strength in my arms and hands. I finally got in to the right doctor, and he actually called Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and spoke to a neurologist, who saw me two months later.”

After getting an electrocardiogram, she was referred to an ALS clinic and began meeting with doctors every four months as they followed the progression of her disease.

“ALS has definitely affected my daily life,” she said. “I used to work full-time, volunteer and run my kids all over to their practices and games. In four years, I went from walking regularly, walking with a cane, then a rollator and now in a hospital bed. I do have a wheelchair that someone drives from behind. I can no longer stand or walk. I can no longer use my hands or arms. I tell my kids I'm a 44-year-old baby.”

Doctors delivered more bad news in 2025, diagnosing Martin with Stage 2 breast cancer.

“With the breast cancer, I can only take a pill to help slow the progression,” she said. “Unfortunately, chemo and/or surgery is not an option because of the way it will attack my body, and my lungs can’t handle being put under anesthesia.”

Despite her daily battle, she has found strength in the support from her husband, Jamar; her kids; and the community of Cape St. Claire Elementary and Magothy River Middle schools, Clippers Lacrosse Club, and the Cape Cougars and Green Hornets football programs. The Broadneck High School football team even allowed her son Chase — a future Bruins athlete — to suit up so she could knock him down with her wheelchair.

She has not let ALS or breast cancer steal her spirit.

“I tell people that I am still me, just in a different capacity,” Martin said. “I am still that friend that will lend a listening ear, surprise you with dinner or a coffee order, and stay up chatting on Messenger for as long as needed.”