Reality check

[JennyC]

I'm in Illinois visiting my dad to visit him before his surgery, he has a lot of health issues but nothing even close to ALS. Being 14 hours from home , 14 hours removed from ALS has been nice....a false sense of normal. In a few days we will be heading home and reality will be smacking me in the face....its almost as if this trip made ALS a foggy reality if that makes any sense....I know its real but yet its not....

I'm just not ready to face the truth again

 

[scaredwifetx]

I so get what you are saying Jenny. I head home tonight and also have a sense of dread but we both know we don't want to stay away and they are ALWAYS in our thoughts.

 

[wendybridges]

That's always the case with grief- be it when someone actually dies or learning that a loved one has a terminal disease. Keep telling yourself it's okay and go about your day like everything is fine, and eventually the truth will become normal. It won't ever actually be okay, but what else can you do but keep functioning? Life was utterly surreal for me for a solid year after my PALS dx came in. I was too young, I didn't know how I was supposed to respond, I forgot how normal human beings feel human feelings. You do what you can, do what you need to do, and when you're not paying attention, somehow it all just becomes... part of your day.

Also, your hair is freaking phenomenal! I tried that style a few years ago, but my hair is Snow-White black and I damaged the [deleted] out of it just trying to bleach it above "Donald Trump-Orange". Jealous!

 

[Nuts]

Jenny, I get it. We would never stay away, but it's nice to feel normal for a bit.

I realized that earlier this week I got through a medical appointment for myself and ALS didn't come up ONCE. It was just about my skin (those nasty pre cancerous spots from too much sun). I focused on me, so no tears, and there was no need to explain my situation. Wow. Normal.

Watch, next week someone will announce that skin cancer is related to stress. You know it's coming now that I've written this!!

Becky

 

[JennyC]

That's always the case with grief- be it when someone actually dies or learning that a loved one has a terminal disease. Keep telling yourself it's okay and go about your day like everything is fine, and eventually the truth will become normal. It won't ever actually be okay, but what else can you do but keep functioning? Life was utterly surreal for me for a solid year after my PALS dx came in. I was too young, I didn't know how I was supposed to respond, I forgot how normal human beings feel human feelings. You do what you can, do what you need to do, and when you're not paying attention, somehow it all just becomes... part of your day.

Also, your hair is freaking phenomenal! I tried that style a few years ago, but my hair is Snow-White black and I damaged the [deleted] out of it just trying to bleach it above "Donald Trump-Orange". Jealous!

Thanks! It's so faded now since that picture, in desperate need for a recolor

 

[vltsra]

Jenny, My husband is still doing pretty well despite the diagnosis, so I've planned some adventures away (things he always said he would do with me...someday). When we are away and doing things outside it feels almost normal (despite his weak left hand and arm). When we get home and back into our routine it's more difficult, he is more prone to depression especially because he can't work like he used to any longer. He was diagnosed in October last year so we are going on a year. I agree with Wendy...I could not function for the first six months but now it is part of our lives.

V

 

[diagnosed2016]

I get this totally: being that we are still in the early stages we haven't told most people. It's so nice to spend time with people who don't know about the diagnosis and feel normal.