Our race

We are all children at heart, wanting the best things out of life. And some of us are lucky and get just that, health, wealth and happiness. But there comes a time when a few of us have to sit back and have a look at what is happening around us.
I am one of those elite few. To look back on my life and remember all the years when I was considered normal. Well, as normal as one can be in this day and age. To be able to go into town, spend hours walking around the shops and generally have a good time.
To travel by car, plane, boat or any other means of transport was no problem. To those of us who were sports minded the world was our oyster and our bodies were the foundation that supported all our hopes, our inspirations and the glory of our race.
We trained in all fields of society becoming leaders and learned much of what makes up this race we call man. But… like every well oiled machine or organisation there comes a time when we have to stop what we are doing, to stand back and reconsider what our role in life is.
Our role is very simple…to stay alive as long as possible. To that end we accept whatever help is offered and prolong the invertible finish to an existence that has affected many people worldwide.
Even as adults we would like the best that the world has to offer but in our case that is not to be. It affects everybody in one way or another and no matter your position or occupation in life, no matter what gender or age, whether you are single or have a family or where you live, ALS/MND will change forever the way that you/I live in this world.
We, as a race of people, have adapted to the many conditions that life in general imposes on us. In many cases we think we are superior but nature has a way of changing that way of thinking and we must concede to her whims. In that we have no choice .
But, we are also a race who will if in necessity, fight back. And we do that with the help of many people. There are so many ways now of making our daily living requirements so much easier for us. Eating, walking, bathing, sleeping and all the other necessities that we as humans need have all been adapted to fit our individual needs.
I may have a terminal illness but I am not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that normality is still the norm for me. I am who I am and if I have had to fit in to a new way of living then so be it.
There are people out there in many countries who take it upon themselves to help those of us affected with this disease and this also includes the many official support groups worldwide. I would like to mention that the woman who runs the ‘Ohio’ support group in America ( Phyllis Van Horn ) has at long last been recognized for all the work that she has done in the past four years. I would also like to publicly thank another woman, Margaret ( Maggie ) Baldwin of Toowoomba, Australia for all the work she does for the ‘Queensland’ MND Association, in front of and behind the scenes . Having lost family members herself to ALS/MND she knows what we are all going through and has put heart, body and soul into doing her bit. THANK YOU MAGGIE….
So, I go on to the next stage of this play on life and wait to see what is in store for me…

UPDATE ON MY CONDITION…
Now totally dependent on a walking frame inside the house. Need assistance now with bathing. Speech pattern is starting to become noticeable with slurring of words . Food is becoming an everyday experiment, mainly with meats. Also seem to have extra saliva some days. Loosing more control of hands when using both of them to do something, IE, tying up shoelaces. Looking at getting help with using the computer mouse as I now have to position right hand on mouse before using.
Apart from the above life is a box of roses, if only. I accept the challenge that has befallen me and take each new day as it comes. I remain still very positive in my outlook….

Quote….Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
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