Hello!

[Mike's Wife]

I've been reading this site for awhile but this is the first time I've posted.

My husband was diagnosed with ALS in Dec 08 and had just turned 45. We have been married for 22 years and have two children aged 21 and 19.

We were patting ourselves on the back for raising two great kids and looking forward to our empty nest and an early retirement........ however that wasn't the plan for us.

This journey is getting much harder and I feel overwhelmed and unprepared alot of the time. We are considered rural and the health care professionals haven't dealt with an ALS patient before and I worry that he will get the care that he needs.

I have great friends and being from a small town everyone tries to be helpful and mean well but I'd love to have "normal" again.

Anyway..........I just wanted to say "HI" and introduce myself.

[joelc]

Welcome! Sorry to hear about your husband. You will find all kinds of help and support here. Don't worry about living in a small community, you can do just fine there. I can tell you how when you are ready. In the meantime, relax and enjoy your time together.

[GlenBrittle]

Hi Mike's Wife.

Welcome to the board. As you say , life has changed . I too was looking at where that cottage would be and how big that boat would be. Now , I am staying put. I too live in a small community of 3000. I have been here for 30 years. I would much rather be here than in the city. Everyone knows everything in a small town - no secrets. That is an advantage for me. Its a positive feeling when you know your family doctor and they make a house call. Or the pharmacist will make sure you have what you need , before you ask for it.

Enough about me ... i'm so shy.

How can we help YOU ?

Glen

[Blackpool]

Hi Mikes wife,
My husband had a heart attack and triple by- pass last year and 2months later had a skin Cancer removed from his face, he is an insuline diabetic which last year finaly got under control he is 7yrs older than me, I am 63yrs and he will be 70 in Nov.he is still working full time for financial reasons but we thought like you we now have hit easy street we had just celebated our 40th wedding anniversary, untill this July when I was dx with resportary ALS a shock for my husband and kids. It is early days yet ,my prognosis is aprox 1yr, everyday brings wonderful insights from friends and family,the kindness of people has been wonderful,our home has been overflowing with visitors coming to visit and some to stay (including relatives from USA and England) I have been blessed and I am sure you will experience many of the things I have. My heart goes out to you both.I wish for normal also, but I guess this is it. This forum has helped me greatly and visit many times a day. Good Luck

[Mike's Wife]

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

Every time I google for infomation it seems to lead me here so I thought I may as well join in.

Sherry

[Big Mike]

Hi Mike's Wife,

I wouldn't get too hung up on the prognosis. Doctors just give the average statistics with als. You may be around a lot longer than that!

[BarryG]

Hi Sherry, welcome to the forum. I think that if you were to do a poll of forum members you would find that a lot of us are from smaller communities. I live three hours west of Edmonton and travel there to the university ALS clinic about every three months. The local doctors have seen ALS patients before so that is good but they don't know a lot about it and I am teaching them. I hope that you can get to an ALS clinic because that is the best place for information and care but having travelled in BC I know how hard it can be to get around. As far as friends and support goes towns have their advantages and disadvantages, as Glen said there are doctors willing to make house calls and pharmacists who know you. Of course the disadvantages are the expense and stress of travel to see specialists and for tests but even though I grew up in a city I would rather not live there.

And now that you are here with us I'm sure that you will find a lot of support and information from us!

[ashiyanayoga]

Welcome to the forum & keep posting


Ashu

[BarryG]

welcome to the forum Ashu.