Sandra Bullock’s Partner Bryan Randall Dies After 3 Year Battle with ALS

Bryan Randall, Sandra Bullock’s long-term companion, has died following a three-year fight with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The 57-year-old’s family broke the news in a statement to the US magazine People.

The photographer “choosed early to keep his journey with ALS private,” according to Bryan Randall’s family, adding, “Those of us who cared for him did our best to honour his request.”

“We are eternally grateful to the tireless doctors who guided us through the maze of this illness, as well as the incredible nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.”

“At this time, we ask for privacy so that we can grieve and come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan Randall.”

Bullock, 59, and Bryan Randall met in January 2015 when the model-turned-photographer photographed her son Louis’ birthday party.

The two started dating and were spotted out and about together by paparazzi for several months before making their red carpet debut at the “Our Brand Is Crisis” premiere in Los Angeles in October of that year.

Over the years, there would often be rumors that the two were engaged or married, which Bullock’s representatives would go on to deny.

Together, the couple were parents to three children: Bullock’s adopted kids Louis Bardo and Laila, and a daughter Randall had from a previous relationship.

What exactly is the ALS that Bryan Randall had?

ALS, which stands for “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,” is a condition that causes gradual degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.

The Mayo Clinic website states that ALS affects motor neurons, or nerve cells that control voluntary muscular movements such as walking and speech.

“ALS causes both groups of motor neurons to deteriorate and eventually die.” Motor neurons that are injured stop transmitting messages to the muscles. As a result, the muscles are unable to operate,” according to a section of the Mayo Clinic website.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, ALS is a frequent form of motor neuron disease.

According to the website, the ailment is also known as Lou Gehrig’s ailment. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lou Gehrig was a professional baseball player in the United States who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939 and died in 1941.

What is the cause of ALS?

According to the website of Johns Hopkins Medicine, doctors do not know what causes ALS.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s ALS webpage, roughly 10% of persons with ALS have a hereditary aetiology.

“Most theories centre on a complex interaction between genes and environmental factors,” according to a section of the Mayo Clinic’s ALS website.

The Mayo Clinic website lists various proven risk factors for ALS, including:

Age, with ALS most commonly occurring between the ages of 60 and the mid-80s.
Gender, with men developing ALS at a slightly higher rate than women before the age of 65. The gender difference, however, vanishes at the age of 70.

According to the Mayo Clinic, smoking, exposure to environmental toxins, and military service are all risk factors for ALS.

“It’s unclear what aspect of military service might cause ALS.” Exposure to specific metals or chemicals, traumatic injuries, viral infections, or excessive effort are all possibilities,” according to a section of the Mayo Clinic website.

According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website, ALS is not communicable, which means it cannot travel from person to person like a cold or the flu.

According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website, persons with ALS may first experience weakness in a leg that develops over a period of days or weeks.

“After a few weeks to months, weakness develops in another limb.” “Slurred speech or difficulty swallowing may be the initial problem,” according to a section of the website.

According to the website, as ALS advances, other symptoms may appear. Among the symptoms are:

Muscle twitching and cramping, particularly in the hands and feet, Motor control loss in the hands and arms, Impaired use of the arms and legs
Falling and tripping, Dropping items, Persistent exhaustion, Uncontrollable bursts of laughter and tears.

According to the website, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, and paralysis are also symptoms in the later stages of the disease, some persons with AMS may develop frontotemporal dementia.

A healthcare provider will perform a physical exam and ask about a person’s medical history, according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website. Several more tests, like as blood and urine testing, will be performed to confirm an ALS diagnosis.

A neurological examination, an electromyogram, or a test to assess the electrical activity of a person’s nerves and muscles, a nerve conduction study to evaluate nerves’ ability to deliver a signal, and an MRI to check for regions of damage in a person’s brain or spine.

Other tests, including as spinal fluid tests and muscle and/or nerve biopsy, may be performed to rule out other disorders with comparable symptoms. According to the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine websites, there is no cure for ALS.

People with ALS normally live for three to five years following diagnosis, according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website, but some can live for ten years or more.