Friday, August 10, 2012

Attitude

 It's been 9 months since I first heard the words and 7 months since confirmation of the diagnosis.

I have found a strength inside of me that I didn't know I had. And it has brought me a great sense of peace.

I know what the ugly end stage of this disease looks like, but I will not entertain those thoughts until they get closer to my current reality.
Living in the present and enjoying it is how I am choosing to conduct my life.
It's not that I don't have sad moments, but they are acknowledged, accepted, and then they move on.
 It's not going to get me until it gets me !

I started writing my "bucket list" in January and have now been able to cross two things off. The pictures here are from our recent fabulous trip to Haida Gwaii, the first item on my list.
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Clinic Visit

 We saw Dr. B and the ALS team this week. For the first time in my life, I am happy to be "slower than average".
Even though my hands look quite a bit worse, the functional tests don't show huge changes. My legs are still strong and my arms are only minimally weaker.

The "typical' progression in my case would be hands - arms - then respiratory or bulbar (mouth and throat) muscles. As we know, this disease is not reliably predictable and there are always exceptions.

I did a breathing test so that they could have a baseline reading. The computer analysis showed that I blew 104% of what was predicted !

Next appointment in November.
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The Walk For ALS

 Thanks to everyone who donated to the cause and a special thanks to my "posse" who joined me for the walk.    I raised $5,353.  
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