What is the life expectancy for someone with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease?

One of my guitar idols Jason Becker has had it since the late 80's. He is no longer able to move his body or play guitar but he still composes via a computer using eye movements. His condition has been stable for several years now.

I know he can't live forever but he does seem to be beating the odds. What is the avarage lifespan with this disease?

For those not familiar with his playing, he is worth checking out on the net. At 17 he released his first solo album mixing metal and neo classical music and helped solidify the neo classical shred movement.

Your idol has already beaten the odds so, at this point, there is no way to predict how much time he has left. Once diagnosis has been made, the average life expectancy is 2 to 5 years. However, approximately 5% of those diagnosed will live for 20 years.

There is even a smaller percentage of people who will experience a complete halt in the progression of their illness and even a tinier number of people whose disease process will reverse!

I'm not sure anyone knows for sure, I had a friend that lived for well over 5 years. Then I've known others who are gone in 6 months.

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