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Liz,

You are right about that, and I am grateful for every moment. I am also grateful for the opportunity ALS has given me to view the world from a different perspective. Although travelling is a good way to expand your mind, there are other ways that don't require leaving the house or spending any money.

Mike
 
I Love You All. Thanks For Positive Words, We All Need It, And Each Other. It's Amazing ,how God Brought Us Together. He Certainly Knows His Stuff.. Mostly He Just Knows The Children He Created... Thanks To You All Jan
 
Greetings,
I was thinking of ways to describe the high highs amid the low lows of those dealing with ALS, and then the other night on 'King of the Hill', there it was .....(hope you all watch 'King of the Hill' a cartoon, yes, but a font of wisdom pearls you might never expect :) ) A buddhist parable:

A tiger chases a man over a cliff, he catches a branch half way down and is hanging there, he looks down, and there is another tiger waiting at the bottom of the cliff---his death is certain. Then he looks across the branch on which he is hanging and sees a strawberry. He plucks the strawberry and eats it----it is the most wonderful strawberry he has ever tasted.


Cheers -- Happy Holidays, Beth (CALS to Shannon, diagnoseded 8/04 at age 40)
 
One of my favourite shows. Hank does show up with pearls of wisdom sometimes. AL.
 
My dad has als since 1982

Hello to you all.
why speak of death so soon? Why not fight to the bitter end? My father was diagnosed with ALS in 1982 and has been under life support machine since 1989 which has given him so far 17 years more than expected (he should have died in 1989). Thanks to technology, he has seen me grow up into the 28 year old woman I am today and has seen my daughter who is now 3 years old. He can never hold her or kiss her but he loves her for sure and she even lies on him sometimes...
Of course, he has fought and has been lying in a bed for the last 18 years but that is his choice and he is the strongest man I know. Of course it has not been an easy ride and often he has had lung infections and had to be placed under antibiotics but for now, he has always pulled through. He is 56 now and was just 31 when this terrible illness hit him but somehow I can say one thing : thanks to him and his advice I was able to leave my quite violent husband and face up to life as a single mother. His advice gave me the strength to do this. Thanks to him I am also more sensitive than the average person. Of course seeing my father slowly grow tired (these last few months he seems far more tired) hurts me a lot but then I know that we love each other so much and that his illness has made me so close to him...we have developed a special bond over the years.
Please continue living for as long as possible as your children should get to know your personnality rather than grow up thinking 'my father died when I was 6 of this dreadful illness'............................. Give them the chance to know you.
 
Excellent perspective from a family member. PALS who decide against life extending measures so they won't burden their families, should consider these sentiments carefully. Thank you Laura.

Mike
 
My thoughts tonight are turning more to the big question of mortality. I just came back from the nursing home where my Mom is in her final stages of Alzheimer’s. Yesterday at our family holiday party I urged my sisters to go see her while they can, but I don’t have confidence that they will.

She was not the best Mom. She will leave her children, all 4 of us, with a multitude of feelings. But even though she was angriest with me-according to what she told my siblings- some instinct inside me made me visit almost daily, and tonight, looking into her dim eyes, I see what I did for us both.

A lot changed from these visits. It is the only chance I have been given to make my peace with her. I had to find a way to do this without communicating with her, but I found I was happy to meet and learn about the person as she now is. I believe that is what helped me forgive her. So, we sit in tranquility and share a smile when she is strong enough.

Her demons were too much for both her and the rest of us. She may not be able to go with peace. But I am learning how to live my life and face the future with grace (OK: mental, not physical grace :-D ) and courage. In the end, I cannot change what life gives me; I can only change my reaction to it.

Happy New Year to us all. Love, Cindy
 
The best gift

Cindy,

Thank you for giving the best example of learning to live a fulll life inspite of what has happened in our past.

You made a choice to forgive and to "honor your mother" not for what she did but for who she is. I believe by choosing to do this you have allowed yourself to be all that God created you to be and to be fully capable of giving and receiving love for the rest of your life. Too many time we allow the past hurts and unjust treatment we've experienced to shape us in ways that make us hard and unloving. The only person we hurt when we refuse to forgive and continue to do what is right - is us. I certainly wish I would have learned this long before I did.

Best wishes for the new year to you and yours.
God Bless you.
Jeanne
 
Thanks Jeanne. I am not a religious person but it feels like a religious experience. Certainly there is some sort fo spirituality going on. I feel at peace both with what is hapening to her and what may be happening to me, awaiting a DX for what increasingly looks and acts like ALS.

Have a good day, however you chose to spend this first day of 2007!
 
Hi Cindy,

I recently lost a stepfather who had hurt several family members, including myself. In the last few years, I began to see that he was actually a very tortured soul, and had lived a difficult life. This together with the life lessons I learned from having ALS, prompted me to reach out and thank him for the positive things he had contributed to my life. I noticed that after his death, I was at peace, while my brothers and sisters had unresolved issues.

You will benefit from reaching out to your mother, while unfortunately, your siblings will probably have unresolved feelings for the rest of their lives. Only light can end darkness. Your life will have much less suffering because of this elusive truth you have discovered. I believe ALS can actually enrich your life if you are sensitive to the lessons it is trying to teach you.

Mike
 
i believe i am at peace with this disease and my choices. i admire each of you who have searched and found answers. my wife, my 3 children,8 grandchildren, brother, sisters, and many friends have given me care and love. my decisions not to use technology to prolong my life is personal and feels final. i do admire those who have made other choices and their caregivers who have given so much. a happy new year to all.

cartman
 
Cartman,

To be at peace with our decisions in life as we face death is more than most people accomplish. ALS gives us the opportunity to contemplate and "bring right" the inevitable blunders we have made during our existence on this planet. Many people never get this opportunity. I respect your decision.

Mike
 
Eloquently put, Mike and Cartman. I've been wondering why ALS, more than most diseases, seems to allow folks to live life to the fullest while preparing for death. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that there is no cure. We cannot focus on treatment that may make us well, so we must figure out how to live while dying. Or perhaps because we are not always preoccupied with pain?

At any rate, some of the most courageous, warm, and delightful people I know are on this forum. I am proud to meet you all.

Cindy
 
Cindy,

I think that ALS just illuminates a feature of existence that we all must face eventually, mortality. We are lucky enough to see the beauty and precious nature of this life while we still have time to be present. One just has to be open to the experience.

Mike
 
mortality

When I was diagnosed we cried for about ahalf hour.than prayed and everything was lifted off us. Sincethen we took trips to Alaska and Hawaii ,to Oskosh , Wis. for the big airshow which we hadnot attended for about 4 years. Was still able to ride snowmobile 300 miles in the "Never surrender" snomobile tour benifiting the MN. ALS chapter. This feb. I will be going on the same ride in a specially built sled that was built by Polaris engineers for one of their own that had ALS 4 years ago. Life is'nt done til its done!
 
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