My husband (ryanw) was diagnosed with ALS today. We had suspected it for a while so it was no big surprise but I still held fast to that little flicker of hope that it was not ALS. It is so hard when the doctor confirms your worst fears and that flicker is so abruptly extinguished.
Our daughter is only 11 and we decided to tell her about the diagnosis today. She has seen us in tears over the past few weeks and knew that Daddy had something wrong with his leg. It was only fair to her to let her know what is going on and that it will not get better. It is so hard to hear your child say "I don't want Daddy to die." The only thing I could say was, "Neither do I."
We did our best to reassure her that Daddy was not going to die right away. We will have some warning and in the meantime, we have an opportunity to build good memories.
I am trying to remind myself to take things one step at a time but wow, it is overwhelming to think of life without my best friend and the things he will likely miss with our daughter. I know that not everyday will be this hard but today definitely sucked!
Our daughter is only 11 and we decided to tell her about the diagnosis today. She has seen us in tears over the past few weeks and knew that Daddy had something wrong with his leg. It was only fair to her to let her know what is going on and that it will not get better. It is so hard to hear your child say "I don't want Daddy to die." The only thing I could say was, "Neither do I."
We did our best to reassure her that Daddy was not going to die right away. We will have some warning and in the meantime, we have an opportunity to build good memories.
I am trying to remind myself to take things one step at a time but wow, it is overwhelming to think of life without my best friend and the things he will likely miss with our daughter. I know that not everyday will be this hard but today definitely sucked!