Keeping the faith for a cure and trying to be inspirational to others.Please pray for me.
Sometime in March of 2014, while working, I began to notice my hands were cramping up from time to time. I did not think much of it because I worked with my hands all day as a AAA battery guy. I just dealt with it. Then, sometime in April, I noticed a very subtle twitching in my left bicep that, no matter what, it would not stop. Again, a little uncomfortable, but I dealt with it. In June, I had gone to the doctor, just for a routine check-up, and I thought I’d point out the twitching to him. He said, that’s actually called fasciculation, does it do it all the time? I started to answer, when he noticed my left thigh was also doing it. This was the beginning of ‘something’ he said, but couldn’t be sure of what, and that I would need to go to a neurologist. For me, it was the beginning of worrying about it. In the following 6 months, there was a barrage of testing from CAT scans, MRI’s, and EMG’s, to lumbar punctures. All they could do to diagnose something was done. Finally, the day came, January 28th, 2015, that I was diagnosed definitively with Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as ALS. Honestly, my reaction was to look at my wife who was next to me, she already had tears rolling down her face, mine soon followed. This was not what we had wanted to hear, but it was what we had heard. As a positive thinker my whole life, I thought that I could get around the initial shock of having to deal with this bad news. After getting home that day, I knew my immediate family and close friends were waiting to see how I made out. Telling my sisters was probably one of the hardest things I ever had to do, aside from eventually breaking it to my kids. What kind of day would that be having to tell them? The good news was that they told me they felt the progression would be slow. All kinds of questions needed to be answered tho, which was so hard to do because things seemed to be overwhelming. There was one doctor who put his hand on my shoulder, and consolingly said,’be strong, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Sometimes it takes a village.’ It took months to understand what that meant. As time went on, I was able to accept things and was happy to be able to still work. In June, we drove to Florida for a vacation. I drove the whole way easily. We went to Universal and Kennedy space center. Everything seemed fine despite all the walking. At the end of our day at universal we went to dinner at the NBA restaurant. After eating, my sons wanted to try the hoops machine in the game room. When I tried to shoot the ball, it only went about 5 feet, really an air ball. My sons had seen me shoot many times before, and so It was a true glimpse of reality. Very disturbing, but I was sure to not let it ruin the rest of our vacation. Another couple of weeks went past and suddenly, I was walking with a cane. Then in the middle of August, I took a fall at work breaking my hand in 3 places. I did not realize it then, but that would be my last day at work. While recovering from surgery for the hand, my body continued to get weaker and falling was a common occurrence. At some point in october, my ability to walk was gone. I am now confined to a wheelchair. However, the news is not all bad as my breathing is still very good. The promise of a treatment is not yet made, but they are so close.
Through all of this , I have learned how much there is to be thankful for and to fight for. I have my best friend in the world right at my side, my wife. I have two wonderful kids. A good family, life long friends, and yes, a village supporting me. The love and respect I have been shown is priceless. If ever there comes a time in your life when you find yourself asking, Why me? Remember Proverbs 3:5
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.’

God bless