LOS ANGELES — Inside the unassuming home a few blocks from the beach in San Pedro, the nursery is almost finished.
A white crib has been assembled. There's a changing table, dresser and bassinet. The closet is filled with gifted onesies for the baby girl due in early January. A rocking chair is on the way.
Each day brings Eric and Amanda Stevens closer to meeting their daughter, but also pushes them toward a harsh reality.
"One year ago, I didn't know how I could go on another day," Amanda wrote this summer on Facebook. "I felt broken devastated, depressed and defeated. I was told that the one person I was supposed to spend the rest of the my life with was only going to live a couple more years."
This is the daily struggle since Aug. 27, 2019, when Eric was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The couple, who had been married only a month, had just returned from honeymooning in Montana to their dream jobs. Amanda taught second grade in Costa Mesa. Eric, who captained the UC Berkeley football team and played for the St. Louis Rams, was a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Unsettling symptoms had been nagging Eric. His left hand felt weak. Muscles spasmed. He sometimes slurred words. He suspected ALS. When a neurologist confirmed his fears, Eric almost passed out.
"We've always planned our future to have kids, have a family," he said. "There was a moment there for a few months where we didn't think it was going to happen because of my diagnosis."
Recalling that time, Eric's words are heavy and halting, another reminder of the disease's relentless advance. He can still breathe and swallow and walk without assistance. But lifting an arm can be difficult. His muscles seem to be twitching more.
Amanda is on leave from her teaching job to help Eric full time. She keeps the couple focused on what they can control. That means Eric, 31, downs more than 20 supplements and vitamins each day. He keeps a strict diet built around meat, fish and green, leafy vegetables. Takes IVs with glutathione, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C. There's stretching with resistance bands. Lifting light weights. Physical therapy. Massages. Sauna sessions.
As she prepares for motherhood, Amanda also fights to stay positive. Nudges her husband out of bed each morning. Ties his shoes. Buttons his shorts. Clips his fingernails. And tries not to worry about the future.
"A lot of people will say to me, 'How are you so strong?' " Amanda said. "It's like you don't have a choice. It's the person you love and you'd do everything you can for that person. That's what I say to people. You'd do the exact same thing."
