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Coping with age & serious illness. Anyone positive want to share?
Aging Well | Last Active: Apr 17 9:27am | Replies (121)Comment receiving replies
@greengold
Hi Betty, thank you for your kind comments! I think in the northern hemisphere you call my illness ALS - we in Australia call it Motor Neurone Disease. It is heartwarming to think that someone in Canada is reading my post! Fortunately not all of us have to face terminal illnesses, but in the end we all have to deal with ageing and the eventual end of our lives. I have come to terms with the fact that I will never reach your age of 86, but I am determined to live and enjoy every day left to me in any way possible. I hope your peripheral neuropathy doesn't restrict restrict your life too much. I am happy that I am leaving a legacy of four adult children, who are all kind, honourable, decent human beings, and will continue the chain of life after I am gone. I wish I could see into the future and see what happens to them in the rest of their lives! It is a beautiful, sunny late-summer afternoon here in Melbourne, Australia. I am 72, my symptoms are still pretty mild, and my philosophy is to do at least one thing I enjoy every day. This morning I had a coffee and chat with my sister-in-law...
Best wishes to you,
@ellu
Replies to "@greengold Hi Betty, thank you for your kind comments! I think in the northern hemisphere you..."
@ellu
Thank you again for posting ! Just before i received your post i had watched the recap of our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and yours Anthony Albarnese , speaking in the Australian Parliament. Calm , respectful and reassuring support.
I worked in Hospice a Board Member and Coordinator after retiring. Our philosophy was " to live (well) till you die" So...long or short, the "living " was most important. I have 4 children as well and feel the joy of seeing responsible adults and grandchildren carrying on my values (and customs).
Blessings to you,
Betty
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@ellu
ALS is a vicious disease. In 2012, my wife went a battery of tests. It seems ten different diseases have a list of tests and symptoms pretty much the same. Nine of the ten respond to the tests and can be eliminated or better yet, cured. At the end of the year, Mayo doctor called us in. He was upset, sad, and nervous. By elimination, you have ALS (We also call it Lou Gehrig's disease). The average life span is two years. Most are less and a few last longer. She lasted two, 8 months.
I won't call what she did as living. One of our daughters became her care giver and kept a journal of her progression down. At the same time, the Dean of Men at a nearby college also had ALS, He lasted 4 years. Stephen Hawkins went for over twenty years. She had the version that slowly kills the voluntary muscle nerves.
We have voluntary and involuntary muscles. You can hold your breathe, so it affects your diaphragm. You cannot control your heart rate, your heart keeps beating. Walking becomes difficult and impossible. Another way to look at ALS, the muscles controlled by the brain are affected. The ones contro;;ed by the spine are not.
It is important to maintain a positive attitude, to keep your life going. The brain allows thinking just not talking, doing. So stay positive and happy.