Thank you all but my sense of your comments is that I was looking for help for me dealing with this reality. I'm mostly looking for how I will help her deal with this. She struggles now and, if/when it gets worse, I know she will lose all quality of life. It's far easier for me to sit back and try to be the cheerleader than for her to have to face her own destiny. How does the patient come to terms with what they face? I'm sure it's different for everyone but, to come full circle, maybe that's where my feelings come in... the feeling of helplessness watching your loved one deal with something and knowing there's not a damned thing to can really do to change it. I think it's common for some people (men especially...?) to want to "fix" things when they go wrong. I know that's been my role for many years. However, there are some things no one can fix.