Some of the world’s roughly 300,000 ALS patients far outlive that two-to-five-year window. As his reputation grew, Bedlack’s patients and those who studied his clinical findings began to evangelize in their own ways. “We have one of the best ALS doctors in the world, only spending 20 percent of his time focusing on ALS?” Wendt said. Her students would learn the patients’ struggles and design clothes to make it easier for patients to dress more fashionably. Bedlack encourages patients to list three things that make them hopeful because he believes hope is a form of medicine.