It’s Real
Thank you for visiting our blog. To can learn more about us you can click *here*. If you want to join us on our journey, you can make it easy by clicking *here* and subscribing. Once you subscribe, any time we update, it will be sent directly to your email. We love to read all of your comments here, and we read every one of them! Thanks for visiting!
(This post was originally on my other blog)
I have known something wasn’t right for about a year now. I thought my husband may be having mini strokes, but his increasing weakness in his arm was really starting to affect him, and I was really beginning to worry. For months we have been going to a variety of doctors and trying out different things ourselves to see if we could get some answers.
On March 10, we got the answer to a question we never thought to ask, and an answer we never wanted to hear.
It was on that day that we learned that my husband has ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a terminal, progressive neurological disorder that slowly paralyzes your body over time until it finally takes away your ability to breathe. It is a horrible disease, and there is no cure. Fifty percent of people die within 3 years, 20% in 5 years, and 10% live 10 years. Considering this is a rare disease, those numbers are very, very grim.
As you can imagine the past few weeks have been spent doing a lot of praying and a lot of crying. We spent 2 ½ weeks with our family members in Florida, and arrived home last week ready to tackle this monster in our lives.
Have you ever been on the edge of a cliff, looking down, and for a moment fear fallling? That is how I feel. Some days the fall doesn’t look so scary, and other days it takes my breath away.
Right now, I am trying to learn how to live on the edge of a this big cliff, clinging to my very big God and praying for a very big miracle.
photo credit
Mom’s family doctor said it was “all in your head.” After several doctors (and diagnoses: Parkinson, MS, PLS) and a trip to Mayo Clinic, we were introduced to ALS. This was back in the 1970’s, just a couple of years after my uncle’s same diagnosis. There is so much to learn! So much more available now than then.
God is able to sustain the family. Our Lord is most powerful when we do not quench the spirit. The cliff is real and some have fallen from it. But never, when holding on to His hand.
Your family has my prayers, and I shall follow along in your journey.
So sorry to hear that you have been on this journey before. I have been doing alot of reading and while they haven’t come up with a cure yet, they have made huge strides in managing symptoms. I am thankful for that. I would love to talk with you more through email if you would be interested in sharing your mom’s journey with me.
I was going through my blog reader when I came across this on your other site. I’m so sorry, but I also know that it is in hardships that the Lord feels the nearest because we can do nothing but cling to him. And what you are doing here is precisely what he wants from us…take what we are given and help others in whatever way we can.
Many blessings to you and your family,
Amy
Amy @ Raising Arrows´s last blog ..Making Your FLYlady Subscription Less Annoying
Thank you Amy. I know that you have had your share of sorrow and can understand the heartache, even though they are different paths that brought us here. Thank you for your encouraging words. And everyone else, check out Amy’s blog, it is one of the best!
I Said A Prayer For You Today
by Frank J. Zamboni
I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard.
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke no word!
I didn’t ask for wealth or fame
(I knew you wouldn’t mind).
I asked him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind!
I asked that He be near you
At the start of each new day;
To grant you health and blessings
And friends to share your way!
I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small.
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all!
Thank you so much. This came through in my inbox today and it blessed my heart greatly.
Dear Scott and Family,
Scott, you are missed here at work, but rest assured that you are on prayer lists and are being thought about constantly. May God give you the strength you need to fight this fight and the grace you need to endure.
Thank you Chuck. I shared your comment with Scott and he was so happy to hear from you. Thank you for praying for strength for us, because we are not able to do this in our own strength and thankfuly we are not required too!