Normally, you’d expect the subject matter of the videos you see while scrolling through TikTok to be light – funny skits, cute animals, dances, maybe a recipe or two. However, when one of Brooke Eby’s videos comes into your feed, you’ll notice it’s a little different from your average clip. Her TikToks may still be funny and full of jokes, but the subject matter – living with ALS as a young woman – is anything but light. 

Brooke was 28 years old when she experienced her first symptoms – weakness in her left foot, which continued to spread throughout her leg. At the time, she was living in New York City and working in tech. It would be four years before she received her diagnosis at the age of 33.

Of course, this was a shocking development for an active, young woman like her at first. Every person with ALS finds their own way to process such a devastating diagnosis – for Brooke, the solution was to turn to her strong sense of humor and look for the lighter side of things. Since she started sharing her story on TikTok, her videos have attracted more than 18,000 followers to her account and received millions and millions of views.

Today, Brooke joins us on Endpoints to talk about living with ALS as a young woman, and how she’s working to spread ALS awareness with humor on social media.