Canadian4Life
New member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 7
- Reason
- Friend was DX
- Country
- CA
- State
- Ontario
- City
- North Bay
Looks like I came to the right place....
Today, I just found out that my best friend (people have said we're soul mates... ) has ALS. I knew he had been having problems for some time, but perhaps part of me did not want to confront the truth. I saw my friend today for the first time in about 3 years - and he broke my heart.
Because he asked me not to be MAD at him, of all things. Sensitive guy that he'll always be he was concerned about how I'D feel seeing him the way he's become. Our friendship started when we were both 7 years old, growing up on the same military base - close to 25 years later all I could think when I looked him in the eye was "After 25 years, did he think I was going to turn my back on him NOW?" Never...he has gotten me through some of the darkest times in my life- times where giving up seemed like a sane choice.
But I've been blessed to have one such as him, who showed me that life was something I could hold on to. He believed that I was someone worth fighting for...and it's made all the difference.
Now, it's my turn. I'll always be there for him no matter what, but I'm almost ashamed to say this - It was HARD seeing him today; I wanted to run so badly - and I definitely didn't want him to see my eyes starting to tear up. Then he started to talk - and I was stunned.
Though ALS has taken his ability to speak away, he still has that wonderful VOICE. He's smart, can argue the fuzz off a basket of peaches, is incredibly kind and still has that mischievious streak in him that made us reminisce about the times said streak would land us both in some principal's office!:lol:
We grew to be high school and college sweethearts; but as it sometimes goes Life and Fate have very different plans for us. Our dreams wound up taking us down different paths, and though it hurt us both we loved each other enough to leave with a smile.
Anyhow, a couple of hours into our talk ( I TOLD you he was a great conversationalist!) he had stopped typing and was just staring at me, like he had something to say but was afraid to say it. Then...after a LONG time (he only has the use of his left arm/ hand) typing he started to cry. "I never stopped hoping you would come back. But you deserve better than me now." I started to cry as well, but then to be honest..I gave him just a little heck saying..."I'LL be the one to decide what I deserve, mister..."
Truth be told, I've never stopped having those kind of feelings for him either, and I told him as much. He asked me if I could still love him KNOWING how he is now and what the future could hold - and one look from those beautiful brown eyes told my soul what it wanted to know.
The saying goes, "If you love somebody, let them go. If they come back to you, they are yours forever. If they do not, it was never meant to be..."
It was his voice, not his ability to speak that made me notice him as more than a *friend* in the first place. His sense of humour can STILL make me laugh, even if a computer is the only way he can turn it loose. That kind spirit still makes me feel content and safe. Eryk is still Eryk...and even though his body no longer works as it should - all the parts of him that made me fall in love with him back THEN still exist.
How can I deserve *better*, when the *best* just came back to me? This is the promise we made to each other...
One day, one hour, one moment at a time. However long our future might be, all of it will be together.
Today, I just found out that my best friend (people have said we're soul mates... ) has ALS. I knew he had been having problems for some time, but perhaps part of me did not want to confront the truth. I saw my friend today for the first time in about 3 years - and he broke my heart.
Because he asked me not to be MAD at him, of all things. Sensitive guy that he'll always be he was concerned about how I'D feel seeing him the way he's become. Our friendship started when we were both 7 years old, growing up on the same military base - close to 25 years later all I could think when I looked him in the eye was "After 25 years, did he think I was going to turn my back on him NOW?" Never...he has gotten me through some of the darkest times in my life- times where giving up seemed like a sane choice.
But I've been blessed to have one such as him, who showed me that life was something I could hold on to. He believed that I was someone worth fighting for...and it's made all the difference.
Now, it's my turn. I'll always be there for him no matter what, but I'm almost ashamed to say this - It was HARD seeing him today; I wanted to run so badly - and I definitely didn't want him to see my eyes starting to tear up. Then he started to talk - and I was stunned.
Though ALS has taken his ability to speak away, he still has that wonderful VOICE. He's smart, can argue the fuzz off a basket of peaches, is incredibly kind and still has that mischievious streak in him that made us reminisce about the times said streak would land us both in some principal's office!:lol:
We grew to be high school and college sweethearts; but as it sometimes goes Life and Fate have very different plans for us. Our dreams wound up taking us down different paths, and though it hurt us both we loved each other enough to leave with a smile.
Anyhow, a couple of hours into our talk ( I TOLD you he was a great conversationalist!) he had stopped typing and was just staring at me, like he had something to say but was afraid to say it. Then...after a LONG time (he only has the use of his left arm/ hand) typing he started to cry. "I never stopped hoping you would come back. But you deserve better than me now." I started to cry as well, but then to be honest..I gave him just a little heck saying..."I'LL be the one to decide what I deserve, mister..."
Truth be told, I've never stopped having those kind of feelings for him either, and I told him as much. He asked me if I could still love him KNOWING how he is now and what the future could hold - and one look from those beautiful brown eyes told my soul what it wanted to know.
The saying goes, "If you love somebody, let them go. If they come back to you, they are yours forever. If they do not, it was never meant to be..."
It was his voice, not his ability to speak that made me notice him as more than a *friend* in the first place. His sense of humour can STILL make me laugh, even if a computer is the only way he can turn it loose. That kind spirit still makes me feel content and safe. Eryk is still Eryk...and even though his body no longer works as it should - all the parts of him that made me fall in love with him back THEN still exist.
How can I deserve *better*, when the *best* just came back to me? This is the promise we made to each other...
One day, one hour, one moment at a time. However long our future might be, all of it will be together.