To my friends

Nature works for its own interest and looks to the profit it can reap from another. Grace does not consider what is useful and advantageous to herself.

Thomas Kempis

There is a school of thought that every human impulse is the result of nature and evolution and that while we think we have free will, we are just acting out biological responses of self preservation or, at best, the preservation of the species. I think this is absurd and if you consider our shared experience I think you will too. I submit as irrefutable evidence, why would anybody befriend someone with ALS? 
If self preservation was at the heart of your intentions you would look to make friends with people who were physically strong to ensure security or at least have a backup to shovel your driveway in a snow storm. This could be overlooked if the friend could provide material or monetary benefits. Obviously the majority of people with ALS struggle to finance their own care and are unable to be a source of wealth for anybody else. 
On the question of perpetuation of the species, natural selection would dictate that we would be inclined to associate with people who have a genetic advantage in survival over the environment. I am sorry to say that nothing about ALS makes living easy. In fact, our daily existence makes pretty much everything more difficult for everyone around us. I think the simple fact that people willingly befriend people with ALS is evidence of the divinity of their character.  In fact, I think it is the most obvious example of goodness that cannot be explained by the laws of nature that I have ever seen.
Thank you.
I love you.