Category: Hope

The Surprising Reason I Need to See You Dump Ice Water on Your Head

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For me, the Ice Bucket Challenge is not just a way to raise money for ALS research. It’s not just about hope. The effect on me goes much deeper when I watch the videos. I know I have a vast support system that includes you, my dear readers. However, I can’t see you read my blog and articles. I get statistics on how many people read my words, and occasionally there are kind comments, but there’s a certain distance between us.

When I watch your Ice Bucket Challenge videos and you say my name, I feel seen. I feel less alone. The gift you give me when you make and post those videos is long-lasting and powerful. You kindle my heart, and I hold that light in my chest until next year when it’s time to repeat the challenge.

This year, I have only seen one video, and that weighs heavily on me. I feel forgotten, like the challenge was just a short-lived trend, not the promise of support and camaraderie that I originally believed it to be. I am holding on to hope that the last few days of August will surprise me, though.

Won’t you let your heart kindle mine?

If you need a reminder of how the Ice Bucket Challenge, follow the instructions below. Don’t forget to challenge three people in your video and tag them when you share the video on Facebook. If you are able to make a donation, you can do it at alsa.org.

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Are you wondering what the donations have accomplished so far? Check it out!

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The Power of the Bucket List

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The approval of Radicava, the first medicine for ALS in 22 years, had me reconsidering my post that labels my belief that I will survive this disease “wild.” Then, the vessel of  my most precious dream was wrecked on jagged rocks I never saw coming.

The federal budget for 2018 calls for the complete defunding of the National ALS Registry, and the shock of learning that my own government would so callously undercut one of the most important parts of the search for a cure left me – and I imagine many others – frightened and enraged. The budget also cut funding to Medicaid and SSDI (social security disability insurance), a fact that barely sunk in. I just didn’t know how to process the realization that the registry was in danger, and Medicaid was as well. Medicaid covers machines, medication, feeding tube supplies, caregiver fees, and so much more that we could never be able to afford on our own. On top of that, if we lost the $600 per month we receive through SSDI, how would we afford the expenses Medicaid doesn’t cover, like my daily injections of B12?

I chose to focus on saving the National ALS Registry155 a campaign I am continuing to expand. Narrowing my focus and taking action gave me a chance to salvage some of my former optimism.

Then came the second hit: a health care bill drafted in the dark that slashed Medicaid so deeply that 14 million of the most expensive beneficiaries – including the ALS community – would lose coverage and very likely their lives. My joy over Radicava seemed distant, even foolish. What good is this new treatment if we can’t afford it because our insurance has been gutted or taken away? Obstacles were coming from all sides. Rising tides of depression and fear threatened to drown me. They still do.

I had to find a path back to joy and hope in the midst of the battles I had been forced to join. Enter my inspiring friend Glynis, who made a bucket list with her husband Vince after he was diagnosed with ALS. The list helped them focus on enjoying the present, no matter how hard it got, and gave them things to look forward to. I decided to follow her example, and I came up with a list that includes both things I can accomplish despite my disease and other dreams I look forward to achieving after I am cured. Now, I have something new to think about as I try to fall asleep and worry creeps in. Have a peek at the list. What would you add to your own?

  • Give people a reason to remember my name
  • Start a new tradition
  • Go to a palm reader
  • See the Northern Lights
  • Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary

Help Launch Phase 2 of the “Save the National ALS Registry Campaign”!

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WANTED! I am looking for people with experience canvassing for petition signatures. Phase 2 of my “Save the National ALS Registry Campaign” is to create and publish a guide that allows citizens to reach out to their neighbors and get signatures to send to representatives along with a letter explaining why we need them to oppose trump’s budget as long as it includes completely defunding the National ALS Registry.

Even if you don’t have experience, message me if you are willing to help do some research on how to support and mobilize advocates who are ready to pound the pavement!

Remember, this is NOT a partisan issue. You can love Trump and still advocate for the ALS community! #ALSaware #DefeatALS #NationalALSRegistry

Pacing Myself

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I have always struggled to acknowledge and accept my limitations to the point that I often push myself far past them. From middle school through college, I participated in at least three extracurricular activities each year. OK, that’s a lie. It was more like four or five. I was in a leadership position as often as possible, too. Of course, that all came on top of a driving need to get straight A’s (and yes, I know that is a misplaced apostrophe, but I stand by it as a legitimate way to make a letter grade plural).

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In high school, I was president of Latin Club. In this photo my dad and I are on a Latin Club field trip.

My first year teaching, I started the middle school book club, served on the information technology curriculum committee, proposed and planned an interdisciplinary curriculum fellowship and a fellowship to rework the English curriculum to include multicultural literature.

I love being busy, operating at full speed, running out of room in my planner, making multiple to-do lists and slashing through each item before falling into bed exhausted.

Now, though, at least half the days of the week, just functioning leaves me too tired to do anything productive. ALS puts such a strain on the body that simply existing is like running a marathon every day. Three years into this nightmare, I’m finally coming to terms with the fact that I can’t set the same amount of goals for myself as I used to. Doing that sets me up for depression, frustration, and failure. If I want to preserve my mental health and use my time well, I have to learn to prioritize and decide where to scale back. I’ve got to stop spreading myself too thin. Thus, without further ado, my freshly pruned list of goals:

1. Enact Phase 2 of my “Save the Registry” campaign (you didn’t really think I would stop at an article and blog post, did you?)

2. Fundraise for The Walk to Defeat ALS

3. Write one essay or section per week for my book on living with ALS

What I expect to sacrifice to accomplish all of this is the frequency of my blog posts and social media updates. Rather than posting every few days, I think it will only be manageable to post once every 1.5 weeks. I consider this a loss since connecting with readers is such a source of joy for me. However, I am hopeful that after I torpedo Trump’s attempt to defund the National ALS Registry and complete my fundraising efforts at the end of September, I will be able to write for my blog weekly. Getting my muscle spasms under control would also be a big help since I wouldn’t spend half the week sedated by Baclofen and Vicodin. The plan right now is to increase the amount quinine sulfate I take and undergo a test to see if installing a pump to push Baclofen directly into my spinal fluid would eliminate the spasms. The pump should increase the effectiveness of the Baclofen while diminishing the sedating side effects. I will definitely keep you posted on that.

For now, I will conclude by thanking you for your support of my writing, my health, and my dream of a world without ALS. I’ll write again soon(ish)!

“Extraordinary” Collaboration Brings Together Project MinE, Answer ALS and the New York Genome Center

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Here’s something to smile about! A big thank you to #TheALSAssociation for facilitating and helping fund this collaboration and countless other invaluable partnerships. In the shadow of Trump’s attempt to defund the National ALS Registry, witnessing The ALS Association’s commitment to streamlining research efforts to push us ever closer to a cure is truly heartening!

PS I know you are wondering how The ALS Association is able to fund so much research. It is possible because of the Ice Bucket Challenge, which is coming up in August. Get ready to get wet!

A Wild and Lonely Belief

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9Dedicated to Dr. Goslin for giving me permission to believe, and my husband Evan, who shields me from the worst of the winter winds.

I am a voracious reader. I always have been, thanks to my parents and grandparents, who planted books around my house in places I could reach even when I was still crawling. They were treasures I was allowed to discover on my own, and as a result, they felt special and personal to me. The books I read in my childhood became a part of me in that they showed me how to dream, hope, and believe. Even now, those stories influence the way I understand the world and cope with the rocks and daggers it throws at me. When I spot trouble coming my way, I snatch up one of these books, opening it wide to use the front and back covers as a shield while I confer in hushed, hurried tones with the characters inside.

Lately the shield I crouch behind is the work of one J. M. Barrie, and Peter Pan is whispering in my ear: “Every time a child says, ‘I don’t believe in fairies,’ a fairy somewhere falls down dead… Do you believe in fairies? If you do, clap your hands! Don’t let Tinker Bell die!” I watch the children bring Tinker Bell back by clapping and shouting, “I believe!” But what good can Peter Pan’s words do me, a young woman dying of ALS? More than you might ever imagine.

You see, I have this conviction that I will not succumb to my disease. I believe I will survive this. I can count on one hand the people who share my belief. I often hear other pALS (people with ALS) talk about their sadness over the special moments they will miss after the monster we are all battling cuts their lives short. On the earth beneath which we have been laid to rest, our loved ones will blow out birthday candles, throw graduation caps into the air, walk down the aisle, paint nurseries, and build cribs. We can only hope they think of us now and then as the flowers of their lives continue to unfold long after our own blooms have wilted and shriveled.

That’s not my story, though. My blossom is wilting because winter has come, not because I am dying. Bitter winds may batter my petals, but my roots are safe and strong. They remember spring and are waiting for it to come again. I have been told not to get my hopes up, and my answer is always the same: “What harm can believing do? If I am wrong, I won’t be around to cry about it.” The fact of the matter – which I rarely endeavor to explain anymore – is that believing is a source of strength for me. After all, Peter Pan said belief can save a life. If you need to hear about the power of belief from someone with more authority, consult another prominent book from my childhood. Open the Bible to Matthew 17:20 where you will find the following words: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

To me, belief is so powerful because of what it inspires. The magic of belief lies in the way it empowers us to live, and when necessary, fight. I believe that I will be cured, but that doesn’t mean I expect an easy path. I know that only if I work hard and plan carefully, I will survive long enough to be cured. This conviction shapes how I live now. In order to last until the cure, I need to keep my lungs strong and clear with daily use of the cough assist and AVAPS machines. Each day, I also complete two dozen physical therapy exercises and follow my feeding tube meal program. I can bear all this and more – hours spent in the hospital for clinics and drug trials, daily vitamin injections, even a tracheotomy if my lungs fail – because I know that my story will have a happy ending.

This is my wild lonely belief: that I am not a withering rose, but a winter one, waiting with patient certainty for the sun.

Summer Dreams

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Something about spending time on a covered porch always leads me reminiscing and daydreaming. As the rain clears to make room for the summer sun, I spend hours out there, watching my dogs play and letting my mind float on the afternoon breeze, I remember, and I plan.

This beautiful weather makes me miss canoeing with Evan terribly. The sound of the water as our paddles slid through the gentle waves slowed my thoughts so I could exist in that moment, working in perfect synchronization with Evan. I especially loved our sunset excursions when the world we knew drifted off to sleep and another secret world began to stir, a nocturnal kingdom we could only glimpse before we lost the light and our way.

When I am cured, Evan and I will return right away to the water. We will buy a red canoe and name it Carlos, and he will take us on dozens of new adventures.

The other activity I am missing is something I only did once. I was shy and nervous, so I didn’t get up the nerve to try karaoke until rather late in the game. When I finally sang into that microphone, though, I was hooked. I especially loved singing duets with Evan (he makes everything at least ten times more fun). When I have my voice back, I am going to hit every karaoke bar in town!

Rag Doll

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At the recommendation of ALS Worldwide 129147 and with the approval of my beloved neurologist, I have begun an unconventional course of medications. I use the word “unconventional” because some of the medicine is either not typically used in cases of ALS or is being used outside of the FDA approved dosing. Additionally, none of this is covered by insurance. Our hope is that the new protocol will better manage my symptoms and even gain back some of the strength and mobility I have lost.

I began taking quinine sulfate to manage my excruciating muscle cramps. Even though my mouth now constantly tastes of bitter tonic water, it’s worth it because I am getting near total relief.

I am taking Nuedexta three times a day rather than the standard two in order to better control my PseudoBulbar Affect, which causes involuntary fits of laughing and crying. We are seeing good results so far.

Next week, I begin daily injections of B12 into my arms and legs. I am not absorbing the B12 I ingest orally thanks to ALS messing with my blood-brain barrier, so we will be delivering it directly to my muscles. This should restore some of my strength and mobility.

And so it goes. We experiment to manage the untreatable, to keep me going by patching up the tears until I am more rag doll than woman. Still, as long as I am, I will be grateful.

A Lesson on Joy

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In the movie adaptation of my life, the climactic scene would go like this: the camera slowly sweeps up to where I am snuggling into a warm plaid blanket on a rustic porch.  The sun peeks out from where it slept behind the mountain range. The soft light on my face shows I’m at peace. I struggled throughout the whole movie with how to carry on living, but last night I found the trick. My friends pushed my wheelchair out into the meadow behind my sister’s cabin, and we stayed up all night watching the stars, singing, laughing, and telling secrets. I know now that this is the key: live in the moment, live for today, and let no adventure pass me by until I close my eyes for the last time.

That’s what dying people are supposed to do, right? It’s our bittersweet version of happily ever after.

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Hanselmann Photography

For me, though, there was no mountain cabin, no midnight epiphany. For the longest time, there was only the looming specter of my death. When I was first diagnosed with ALS, I described the doctor telling me the news by saying, “He told me I’m dying.” I used to get those two things mixed up: having ALS and dying. They do sound the same. After all, there is currently no cure or treatment for this ruthless disease. Immediately after diagnosis, I planned everything from who would get my beloved cameo necklace passed down from my great grandmother to the type of funeral I want. I imagine a ceremony around a sapling which my family and friends can visit and tend to as it grows into a memory tree. I hoped my loved ones would picnic there, and children would climb my branches.

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Of course, not all of my death thoughts were so serene. The prospect of dying young fueled what became an obsession with fading into a distant memory as my loved ones grow old without me. I worried most about what I would become to my husband, Evan. I imagined being a brief chapter of his life before he meets the woman who will be the main act, the mother of his children. She will succeed where I failed, giving him the family and future he deserves, transforming me into a tragic footnote in his biography. With my mind drenched in such excruciating fears, how could I surrender to the beauty of the present?

A series of fortunate events saved me from despair. First, we moved to Portland, where I received the exact kind of care I hoped for at my new ALS clinic. I now work with a creative, emotionally intelligent doctor who is full of hope regarding treatments currently being tested. She immediately empowered me by involving me in one such trial. Finally, I was doing something to fight back, and I dared to dream that the end of my story might not be written on a tombstone.

Then, a few months later, I found the next rung of the ladder that I would climb towards joy. ALS Awareness Month crept in, and a flurry of fundraising activity swept across my Facebook feed. Guilt pressed down hard on my shoulders; I was the one with ALS, but my family was doing all the advocacy work. As a last minute attempt to get involved, I decided to write a little note on Facebook every day about my life with ALS. I didn’t expect to generate much interest, especially since I wasn’t sure how much had to say on the subject. Flash forward three days, and I was pouring my heart out to a shockingly large and invested audience. I became enamored of power those posts gave me over my experience. That power, just like the power I gained from the drug trial, gave me the bravery to fight like never before. I dove into fundraising for the ALS Association, and my doctor and I collaborated with ALS Worldwide to learn new ways to preserve my speech, strength, and mobility. As my hope blossomed, I realized I couldn’t honestly fight for a cure without spending at least as much time imagining my life after ALS as I had spent fixated on my death.

I came to understand that joy will remain a distant dream if a person can’t give equal head space to the best and worst outcomes.

Real, lasting joy pumped from my heart to every inch of my failing body when I gave myself permission to dream. Now, I imagine that Evan and I will make up for all the years we have spent bound to our home and hospital by renovating an Airstream trailer and roaming all over the country, exploring national parks, chasing northern lights, and following music festivals. I will return to writing novels because the miracle of a cure will mean that a blog about ALS will be unnecessary. Evan will play guitar in the evenings, and I’ll sing along like I used to. Everything will be beautiful, and nothing will hurt.

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A few months after I started my blog, I got a feeding tube. Lying on table looking at the distant ceiling of the operating room, it occurred to me that this would be the first scar ALS left on my body. I got sad thinking about how I would never get rid of it, even if one day I no longer needed the feeding tube. But then, I thought of myself leaning out the window of the car on a sunny day with hundreds of miles ahead of me, Evan looking handsome in the driver’s seat,  our Airstream trailing behind us, glittering in the sun like a mermaid tail, and I didn’t mind a small scar at all. Some day, it will be the only reminder of what I suffered, and should I ever get scared embarking on my new adventure, I can look to the hole sewn up right beneath my heart and know I will survive.

Choosing Hope Over Fear

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X-File 06102015: ALS

Agent Fox Mulder, the protagonist of the cult classic TV show “The X-Files”, is on a mission born of personal tragedy. He is obsessed with hunting down UFOs in order to find answers about extraterrestrials because as a child he witnessed his sister being abducted by aliens. His search for answers is relentless even though science hasn’t caught up with his belief that “the truth is out there.” Every time he investigates a case that seems bound to result in revelation, he gleans only enough scraps of information to keep from losing faith. Is this starting to sound familiar?

Those of us who have been personally affected by ALS have a similarly dogged commitment to searching for the truth about a disease nearly as mysterious as ETs – one without a known cause or cure. The countless studies made possible by extraordinary fundraising efforts such as the Ice Bucket Challenge are providing glimpses into the shadows shrouding ALS. Sometimes I wonder, though, when the revelation I am waiting for will finally come.

Like my favorite FBI character, faith keeps me going. Many people think that you either have faith or you don’t, that believing is an ability we can’t control, like a natural talent for music or art. However, I experience faith in the dedication and brilliance of the scientists working to slay this dragon is a decision. Agent Mulder is famous for his line, “I want to believe.” Being impatient and afraid are inevitable, but letting those emotions overwhelm faith is a choice. I want to believe, and so I decide to, again and again, for as long as it takes.

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