It was just about one year ago, spring break week 2022, that I went public with my ALS diagnosis, here on these pages to you, my friends, as well as to our community on Clark County Live! Since then, I have also been documenting the journey on my personal blog.
I let the words fly, and then Melanie and I flew to Arizona to escape from reality, decompress, regroup, and figure out what was next. We caught the end of Spring Training and some pool time down there and missed the spring snow up here… seemed like a fair trade.
Since then, the amount of love I felt from all of you has been overwhelming. I can’t even begin to tell you how profoundly grateful I am for all of the amazing things that you have done on behalf of me and my family. From your incredible generosity with the gofundme and the direct donations of financial support to the unbelievable kindness (and great eats!) of the meal train, and most importantly, the prayers, we have felt beyond blessed.
These gestures leave me certain that I do not travel this path alone.
It honestly brings me to tears whenever I think about it (fortunately, I can blame the emotional roller coaster on the nerve destruction process of the disease itself). 🙂
When I started more publicly documenting this journey, I figured I would do a couple of posts here and there. Maybe I’d drop a couple of knowledge bombs and a few tidbits of hopefully meaningful information about this disease. But, because of your kindness and encouragement, and the positive feedback you’ve given me, I’ve written more than I ever would’ve expected… thank you, I’m very grateful for that.
While I have several more stories that I’d like to eventually get to that are from a personal life experiences standpoint, I’d also like to add to some of the work I’ve done specifically related to this disease. Unfortunately, I am also acutely aware that my physical challenges are beginning to create frustrating limitations to my writing. That’s a real bummer, because I feel there is still a lot of unfinished business.
There is so much that the average person does not understand about this disease. In fact, there is a ton that even the average ALS patient doesn’t know about the havoc that this insidious disease will ultimately wreak upon their lives.
At this point in the journey, I’m all about trying to move the needle, to make a more meaningful impact – in my life, in your life, even in the lives of people who I’ll never meet.
If I can do that through some of my personal anecdotes and stories, and how my life journey and my ALS journey have come together, fine, that’d be great. More importantly, if I can do that by creating more understanding and awareness about the brutal physical, emotional, and financial toll of this devastating disease, that would be even better.
So, as my journey continues down this path as of yet untraveled, I promise to do what I can to be the best person I can be, to share the most impactful stories that I can, and do everything I can to fulfill the objectives He had in store for my life.
And through it all, I will continue to be incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for always being there with me on this journey.
From my poem “Overwhelming”
In this faith, I must abide,
By steadfast example, I must lead,
Though often I may feel ill-equipped,
In this fight, I shall never cede.
Peace and Love from here.
