Jay Smith, founder of the 90 Foundation whose mission is to support the most promising research to find a cure for ALS, imagines a world where ALS is a treatable and manageable illness, rather than an underfunded and terminal disease, which devastates the lives of individuals and their families receiving a diagnosis every 90 minutes.
His website www.every90minutes.org is dedicated to making sure that 100% of the money raised goes directly towards research.
Jay writes succinctly, and with honest humour of some of the challenges of living with ALS that I just had to share.
His website www.every90minutes.org is dedicated to making sure that 100% of the money raised goes directly towards research.
Jay writes succinctly, and with honest humour of some of the challenges of living with ALS that I just had to share.
Ask or Deal
Ask or Deal, the increasingly difficult game show that is now your life. Living with ALS is different for each person but one thing is for sure, you will constantly be playing this game. Sure the first rounds are easy, do I try and tie my shoes or ask for help? As the game progresses so does the level of difficulty. This constant internal battle of what do I ask help with and what do I just deal with might be the hardest part of the disease. As much as I am trying to paint a picture for those without the disease it’s virtually impossible to understand how consuming this can be for us living with it. It usually starts with the spouse or partner but eventually involves everyone around you, your kids, parents, in laws, friends, and caretakers. In the beginning it is almost charming, your wife cuts your steak, your buddy opens your beer, your daughter holds your hand up the stairs. Then the game gets real. Your husband wipes your ass, your sister holds a tissue up to your mouth during a coughing fit, and your dad has to suction snot out of your nose. This is where the game gets harder. Friends start to get uncomfortable, family doesn’t come around as often and your spouse gets tired. Understandably so. It’s not you, it’s the disease. So they say. The problem is you are the disease. Everyone grows tired of your needs but they get to escape, even if that means washing the dishes, sipping on a cup of coffee, or sleeping. I can see why so many people get divorced, abandoned, and give up, they had no idea that ALS is just one big game of Ask or Deal. As the game gets harder you must adapt. I use to think you could escape ALS when you sleep but that’s no longer true. Ask or Deal is in full effect at bedtime. Do I ask for the covers to be pulled down now knowing that in five minutes I might be cold or do I wait five minutes to see if I’m hot? The latter requires one ask but still requires a possible wake up. My wife always gets me positioned and says “happy?” It isn’t about being comfortable it’s about being able to deal . The real question is can you deal with this amount of uncomfortable? If I were to get comfortable you’d be adjusting me all night. I always want the last thing my wife hears before she falls asleep is “I love you”. More often than not it’s “can you scratch my ear”. I wish it weren’t the case but that’s my life. It’s a sad fact that ALS picks type A personalities to play in this game, it would be like picking couch potatoes to compete in American Ninja Warrior. In some ways it’s a good life lesson, forcing me to be more patient, less neurotic, and easier going, but mostly it’s just annoying. I don’t spend my time complaining, I’m way to happy to be alive. I would however like to pick this booger that has been lingering since Wednesday. My best piece of advice for someone newly diagnosed is to become the grand champion of Ask or Deal, it’s the only way to stay alive. And when you do master it let the rest of us know how it’s done wouldya? #Every90Minutes
http://www.every90minutes.org
Ask or Deal, the increasingly difficult game show that is now your life. Living with ALS is different for each person but one thing is for sure, you will constantly be playing this game. Sure the first rounds are easy, do I try and tie my shoes or ask for help? As the game progresses so does the level of difficulty. This constant internal battle of what do I ask help with and what do I just deal with might be the hardest part of the disease. As much as I am trying to paint a picture for those without the disease it’s virtually impossible to understand how consuming this can be for us living with it. It usually starts with the spouse or partner but eventually involves everyone around you, your kids, parents, in laws, friends, and caretakers. In the beginning it is almost charming, your wife cuts your steak, your buddy opens your beer, your daughter holds your hand up the stairs. Then the game gets real. Your husband wipes your ass, your sister holds a tissue up to your mouth during a coughing fit, and your dad has to suction snot out of your nose. This is where the game gets harder. Friends start to get uncomfortable, family doesn’t come around as often and your spouse gets tired. Understandably so. It’s not you, it’s the disease. So they say. The problem is you are the disease. Everyone grows tired of your needs but they get to escape, even if that means washing the dishes, sipping on a cup of coffee, or sleeping. I can see why so many people get divorced, abandoned, and give up, they had no idea that ALS is just one big game of Ask or Deal. As the game gets harder you must adapt. I use to think you could escape ALS when you sleep but that’s no longer true. Ask or Deal is in full effect at bedtime. Do I ask for the covers to be pulled down now knowing that in five minutes I might be cold or do I wait five minutes to see if I’m hot? The latter requires one ask but still requires a possible wake up. My wife always gets me positioned and says “happy?” It isn’t about being comfortable it’s about being able to deal . The real question is can you deal with this amount of uncomfortable? If I were to get comfortable you’d be adjusting me all night. I always want the last thing my wife hears before she falls asleep is “I love you”. More often than not it’s “can you scratch my ear”. I wish it weren’t the case but that’s my life. It’s a sad fact that ALS picks type A personalities to play in this game, it would be like picking couch potatoes to compete in American Ninja Warrior. In some ways it’s a good life lesson, forcing me to be more patient, less neurotic, and easier going, but mostly it’s just annoying. I don’t spend my time complaining, I’m way to happy to be alive. I would however like to pick this booger that has been lingering since Wednesday. My best piece of advice for someone newly diagnosed is to become the grand champion of Ask or Deal, it’s the only way to stay alive. And when you do master it let the rest of us know how it’s done wouldya? #Every90Minutes
http://www.every90minutes.org
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