Hi to all. I read many of your stories (catching up!) and I can identify with so many of you! Keep the faith and keep up the "fight"! Sunnysierra, I can identify with so much of your post. What DID happen to May?! Also, so very sorry about your dog! We had to have our 10 year old Golden Retriever (smartest, bestest dog I ever had) put to sleep in late Sept. With all else that was going on in our lives and the fear of the upcoming diagnosis, I barely had time to mourn my buddy's departure.
My PALS has had a progressive decline; not as fast as some folks have witnessed, but still disheartening to me. Dave can't open jars (or most of his pill bottles now) and can barely climb the 4 steps to the rear entry to our home. I will need to cattle-prod our dear but not highly ambitious neighbor to get our ramp done!! Dave gets exhausted from minimal activity, and with the recent large saddle pulmonary embolism he had, he is even more exhausted.
I received a summons for jury duty - REALLY?! ...... now?? I will contact our ALS neuro to see if I can get an exemption for that, since I am the sole care-giver for my PAL, and he has had one fall just recently. The worst thing about jury duty is that you cannot have your phone with you for the duration of your duty. So, my nerves would be SHOT if I can't communicate with my PALS and make sure he responds!!
Anna, I convinced my PALS/Dave to do voice banking with model talker. It does involve some effort/time. I am so glad he did this, as his voice is definitely weakening now and he has virtually no voice "projection". Anyway, model talker (.org) is FREE - they maintain their service via donations and grants, and they were pretty easy to use. We went to our local college so we could use a "quiet room" and their internet service.
So many others out there that I have to catch up on your stories and lives. Please know I am thinking about so many of you!! What a wonderful resource this website and forum is for us to catch up with and communicate with each other. Love and STRENGTH wished to so many of you!!