Category: Husband

The man I kiss at midnight

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What you have to understand about the way I love Evan is this: I am desperate for him. I can’t shut up about him, and I don’t want to. I have heard people say that the sign of a strong relationship is that there is no sign of it on social media because the couple has nothing to prove. That makes me laugh because I am not writing about Evan for you, or at least not to convince you we’re happy. I’m just evangelical about my husband.

He is my laughter and smile and safety. The world could fall away, but if we were together, I would be just fine. I don’t have reason to be afraid anymore, and when my memories scare me, he holds me while I fight a villain only I can see.

He is the air filling my lungs, and he snatches my breath when I catch sight of him unexpectedly. When I fell in love with him, I felt like my real life had finally begun. I understood everything, who I was and what I could be with him beside me.

It feels like this: my heart beats him out, and he saturates every river of my blood until he marinates each cell. He turns my blood into champagne. That’s not pretty language. It’s science, a completely accurate description of a  phenomenon that I think about and live every single day.

I don’t care if he loves me as much as I love him. I am just glad he wants to be with me. More than anything, I want him to be happy. Because of that desire – for him to have the best of every single thing under the sun and exist in total bliss – we had this conversation:

Rachel – I read about a woman who remarried barely two years after her husband died. I guess she missed having a spouse she could be normal with because she hadn’t had that the whole time her husband was sick. I want you to have a normal, full life. I am like a physical nonentity. You deserve better.

Evan – You’re not a nonentity! How can you say that?

Rachel – Physically, though, I just take up space. I can’t even hug you. How can this be enough for you?

Evan – It’s enough. It just is. The way you look at me makes me feel hugged.

Rachel – That’s one of the best things you’ve ever said.

His happiness is my greatest life goal. As for me, I’m happy to just stare at him while he reads, cooks, or sleeps. I know I look sweet, but don’t let that fool you; he makes me feral and vicious. I would do absolutely anything to secure his happiness without hesitation. I can forgive a lot, use my empathy to understand where someone else is coming from in a conflict, move on. All of that goes out the window, though, when someone wrongs Evan. I never forget either. May 2012, Washington DC, Evan organized a massive event to train grassroots activists, which was attended by 523 citizens from around the country. Evan was troubleshooting a problem in the lobby when his colleague swooped in and began bragging about the 523 advocate training binders that Evan had actually created. He has been over it for years. I am not. So, yes, you could say I am more than a little protective of him.

His existence makes me believe in a higher power because there is no way that he – or we – are products of chance. He wraps around the chunks cut out of me by a painful past and lingering insecurities. I honed sharp edges to protect myself before him, and I enjoyed the power of a preemptive strike. However, time with him has dulled those parts of me, which I allow because in my new life, I don’t need razors.

Falling in love with Evan also restored my lost faith because I have to believe that someone is watching over him every second we’re apart. Otherwise, I would go mad, though losing my mind over my love of Evan isn’t completely out of the question…

I never want to live in a world where he is farther than a phone call away. Ideally, that sentence would read “I never want to live in a world where he is farther than 20 feet away,” but I am aware that we need our own identities. This is probably the best indicator that I am not completely unhinged regarding Evan. I am in love, infatuated, even a little obsessed, but not crazy. And if I were crazy, well, I wouldn’t mind at all… as long as it didn’t bother Evan.

And now, a song that always make me think of my beloved Evan:

Okay, I lied. There is one more song that is perfect! However, it’s by my favorite artist, who Evan strongly dislikes… But it is my blog so, play my heartstrings, Iron and Wine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCYWymG9fSs

 

 

My Depression Diary

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Trigger Warning!

Forward:
When just over a month ago I sensed that my mind was changing, I was overcome with a frenzied need to record everything I thought and felt. Even before I understood that I was depressed, I realized I was going somewhere that outsiders could never truly visit. I became consumed by the need to write a message from the inside that could maybe serve as a map or even just a sign that says “Keep Out! Here Be Dragons!”

Not so long ago, sharing my diary with strangers online never entered my mind, not even in my worst nightmares or wildest dreams. It was that impossible. However, that was before ALS. The same rules – even my own most personal code – no longer apply. I am braver because I am a soldier now. I take risks because that’s how you fight. This way, even if I die before the cure comes (and it will come), I’ll go knowing I made the path less lonely for my fellow soldiers and just a little easier for those who come after me.

I didn’t sign up for this war, but my enemy means to kill me, so I must give everything I have and am in this fight. Privacy is a luxury long gone. I will share my most secret thoughts and vulnerable moments in service of my fellow soldiers and the people who make my life worth fighting for. Right now, that means showing you what it’s like inside the beast that senses we are battle worn and easy prey. My hope is that if you read my diary and recognize yourself or a loved one in these words, you will realize it’s time to call for reinforcements, whether in the form of a psychiatrist who prescribes antidepressants, a therapist who talks you through the climb out of the pit, or a priest or pastor who provides solace and guidance.

To learn more about preventing and identifying depression, read my ALS News Today column12212627122128. I will share a follow-up post in the next few weeks on different types of intervention and how to choose which is right for you.

Now brace yourself. We’re going in.

Entry 1:

I am choking on the strength of this episode. It wraps ever tighter around my throat, just like his hands. As I write this, I am sitting in bed, watching a funny show while checking my email, text messages, and Facebook notifications. It is the middle of the night, a time of terror for me, so I need the safety of the blue electronic light of my devices. I bask in the glow, then I drown my thoughts in sitcom banter and a whirlwind of multitasking.

Burying my dark thoughts is a high stakes game; if I don’t use the right maneuvers, the shadows win. No matter how scared I am now, it is nothing compared to how I will feel if the memories creep in. The memories open the floodgates of flashbacks, which will sweep me far away and back in time to that room where I was raped and nearly murdered.

I escaped with my life, but certain parts of me died there, namely the part that believed no one would ever hurt me. Well, actually I had never really considered that I could be a story on the news as easily as any other human. I held myself apart in the way we all must to some degree if we want to function in the world. Dwelling on our abject vulnerability would reduce us to terrified shells of ourselves.

Like me.

Entry 2:

I can’t close my eyes in the dark. I can no longer write, I can’t focus on reading. All I can do is mindlessly watch TV. I am afraid to sleep because I want to remain vigilant, and I know nightmares are waiting for me. I am resuming therapy, or at least that’s what I tell myself, but I am desperate for a quick fix. I know that no miracle pill exists to give me relief, but I have been living with PTSD for eleven years, never knowing when it will become active and derail my life. I’m exhausted.

Entry 3:

Thinking about “the event” again. I guess writing “rape and attempted murder” became too clunky since I keep doing it again and again. I wish there was a word for that crime.

Here’s something weird: I had actually been in that room before. It had a great view of the Gulf of Finland, so I took a picture. I put in black and white because I thought it made the photo look artsy. During “the event,” I turned my head so I was looking out the window at that same view. I remember making that choice because I wanted to escape my body. Maybe I succeeded because when I look back, I can only remember the black and white photo. The memory lacks color and sound. In fact, that whole night remains in perfect silence, as if I stepped into the photo because inhabiting my skin was that unbearable.

I also sensed if I looked up, I would not survive. I couldn’t articulate it then, but in hindsight, I realized that it I were to look, I would have to confront what he was doing, and I didn’t want that image in my head. If I looked at him, the image would take over my brain like a fungus I saw on a nature show. The fungus commandeers the ant so that it becomes disoriented, out of touch with reality and its purpose. Ultimately, its new biological imperative is no longer survival. It follows the final orders of the sadist in charge by climbing as high as it can. Then, when the ant is paralyzed by vertigo and weakness, it gives in. The fungus cracks the ant and blossoms, sending its spores far and wide, aided by its victim’s lofty position.

Summary: if I looked up him, the images would have devoured my mind until I forgot who and why I was, creating so much pain that suicide started to look attractive.

That kinda happened anyway, though…

Entry 4:

My doctor came to see me. I can’t believe that I didn’t realize what’s going on until she talked to me. It is classic crying, lack of interest in anything, wanting to stay in bed depression. It is not the most severe I’ve had. On a scale of one being fine and ten being suicidal in the mental hospital (true story), it’s a five.

The PTSD fuels the depression by isolating me. I’m so mad at myself. I want to be stronger and fight this off with logic, but everything is scary. It makes me think of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. There’s a great quote when Grace says something like, “Quilts are so bright like war flags, I think we put them on beds so you take notice. You see the warning that the bed is a most dangerous place.”

That’s how I feel when I get in bed. I still feel the danger of a crime long since committed against me, so I stay awake on guard all night. When dawn comes, I finally surrender to sleep. The end result of all this fear and hyper-vigilance is loneliness. I am only awake when my friends, family, and beloved husband are asleep. I want to have friends over, go write in the beautiful library, and spend awe-filled hours in the art museum. I perpetuate my isolation by refusing to reach out to them.

I also play this game where I don’t contact them and then wait to see how long it takes for them to contact me. The longer it takes for them to contact me, the less they obviously care about me. It’s a shitty game, but I can’t stop playing.

Entry 5:

I feel like a raw nerve in pain after any interaction. I wish I could read substantial books. My intellectual hunger still rages (a good sign), but my concentration is too poor to make it through even the first page of any appealing titles.

Also, lately the library doesn’t have e-book versions of what I want, and I took this REALLY personally. I reacted as though this was a commentary on how little society values me as a disabled person. I am hung up on that anyway because of all the times President Trump has negated the value of the people with disabilities. From mockery to attempts to gut Medicaid and defund ALS research… I don’t want to let him me this way. It’s just that everything hurts me more now that I am depressed.

Entry 6:

I am starting to think this is happening because I am repressing sadness, which is a pattern for me, which I discussed in the post “Leaves in My River, Stars in My Sky123127128123129.” I mean, the major thing that I have been crushing for years is sadness for Evan. If I really think about his situation of watching me slowly crumble, if I empathize and imagine myself in his shoes, I feel like I’m dying in a way ALS has never achieved. Knowing he cries in the car makes me sick. I sob hysterically until I can’t breathe. Imagining I’m the one crying in the car because I am losing him is unbearable, and I am grateful that I am the one who has ALS.

Entry 7:

Evan says to go easy on myself. Getting frustrated with myself does great harm and zero good. I can’t berate myself into ending the episode. I guess it’s time to learn to show myself the compassion I apparently think everyone but me deserves. After all, if I am not on my own team when I’m at my weakest, how will I fight my way through this? I know that logically. Now I have to figure out how to live that truth.

Wish me luck. I need it.

3 Things to Be Grateful for This Thanksgiving If You Have ALS

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Gratitude

Those of us living with ALS or loving someone who has it are gratitude experts. Don’t misunderstand me. We have our dark, bitter moments. As we catalogue our blessings – the precious time we have had on earth, our remaining abilities – we inevitably think about the other side of the coin. Yes, I have lived 30 full years, but how many do I have left as this disease does its wicked work? I can still move my legs, but God, do I miss walking and dancing.

This post is meant to break us and our loved ones out of this cycle. This Thanksgiving, let’s be grateful for the following:

1. The exciting research currently underway

In the three years since the Ice Bucket Challenge, we have seen more progress in research about the causes of and treatments for ALS than I ever dreamed of when I was diagnosed. Just a few months ago, the FDA – with guidance from the ALS Association – approved Radicava, the first new drug for ALS in over 20 years! To keep up with advances in research as well as drug trial news, follow these organizations on Facebook or Twitter: The ALS Association, ALS TDI, and ALS News Today.

2. We are not alone

In addition to the local monthly support groups hosted by The ALS Association, did you know that this fantastic organization arranges fun events for ALS families year round? My chapter hosts a Zoo Day and a picnic gathering at a local farm. Follow your local chapter on Facebook or Twitter so you don’t miss out! You can also get support without even leaving home by joining online support groups. I belong to six on Facebook!

3. Caregivers show us love every day

I am constantly amazed and humbled by the devotion of my caregivers. Whether they are family members, friends, or professionals we hired through an agency, they work tirelessly to see to my personal needs, from feeding me to toileting. What’s more, they do it in a way that preserves my dignity. Then, I think of all the ways they support Evan. An ALS spouse is never truly off duty, so it’s easy to get behind on housework and neglect self-care. My caregivers make such a difference in Evan’s quality of life by helping out with laundry and staying with me while Evan runs errands or takes a little time for himself. Make a list of everything that your caregivers do for you. It will give you something to do during the four hours your turkey is it the oven.

On that note, remember that November is Caregivers Appreciation Month. It’s not too late to thank your caregivers with a heartfelt note or some flowers!

 

This post is dedicated to my caregivers: Amelia, Aubrey, Brenda, Cindy, Evan, Mallori, Melissa, Paige, and Renee (AKA my mom).

I Am Not OK

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As I write this, I am sitting in bed, watching a funny show while checking my email, text messages, and Facebook notifications. It is the middle of the night, a time of terror for me, so I need the safety of the blue electronic light of my devices. I bask in the glow, then I drown my thoughts in sitcom banter and a whirlwind of multitasking.

Burying my dark thoughts is a high stakes game; if I don’t use the right maneuvers, the shadows win. No matter how scared I am now, it is nothing compared to how I will feel if the memories creep in. The memories open the floodgates of flashbacks, which will sweep me far away and back in time to that room where I was raped and nearly murdered.

I escaped with my life, but certain parts of me died there, namely the part that believed no one would ever hurt me. Well, actually I had never really considered that I could be a story on the news as easily as any other human. I held myself apart in the way we all must to some degree if we want to function in the world. Dwelling on our abject vulnerability would reduce us to terrified shells of ourselves.

Like me.

I can’t close my eyes in the dark. I can no longer write, I can’t focus on reading. All I can do is mindlessly watch TV.  I am afraid to sleep because I want to remain vigilant, and I know nightmares are waiting for me. I am resuming therapy, but I am desperate for a quick fix. I know that no miracle pill exists to give me relief, but I have been living with PTSD for eleven years, never knowing when it will become active and derail my life. I’m exhausted.

Evan says to go easy on myself. Getting frustrated with myself does great harm and zero good. I can’t berate myself into ending the episode. I guess it’s time to learn to show myself the compassion I apparently think everyone but me deserves. After all, if I am not on my own team when I’m at my weakest, how will I fight my way through this? I know that logically. Now I have to figure out how to live that truth.

Wish me luck. I need it.

 

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!

Three Dreams and A Dragon

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When I was thirteen, I bought a small, blue, canvas-bound book whose title, scrawled in loopy silver script, read, “The Interpretation of Dreams.” I purchased it because every morning, I awoke with vivid memories of three, sometimes four, dreams. About half of them were nightmares, but they didn’t trouble me as much as what I called the Sagas. In those dreams, I lived entire lives, and when I woke up and realized that none of it was real, the resulting devastation was almost as intense as if I just lost actual friends, a husband, children. I hoped that I would find answers about what the Sagas meant and achieve peace by way of the knowledge.

I never found my answers; when I started taking anti-depressants at age fourteen, the Sagas disappeared, so I abandoned my research. However, the nightmares began to run rampant.

Lately, my nightmares have been especially painful. I have three that take turns playing in my nocturnal theater. First, I dream that fierce predators escape from the zoo, lurking the city’s streets, lying in wait for unsuspecting humans to cross their path. Unfortunately, I’m the only one who knows this, so it falls to me to protect my husband and sister even though I don’t have a single weapon.

Next up, I awake on a dark beach. I lay on the rough sand, utterly confused by my surroundings. Then a pair of hands reach down to help me up. I realize too late that they belong to my rapist. Raising a hand to caress my cheek, he says, “We’re the last people on earth. It’s just us. Now we can be together forever.” It’s then that I notice I’m wearing my wedding dress.

The worst dream starts before I even fall asleep. As I drift, memories of the words of my last Lower School Director and the Head of School echo in my head…

“Your students are bored.”

“Their parents lack confidence in you.”

“Maybe your personality is the issue. Go observe the Spanish teacher. Try to be like her.”

“You lack presence in the classroom.”

“Have you considered being a librarian? Then you won’t work with children every day, and you can be around those books you love so much.”

“You’re too academic.”

“Try not to look so frail. Stop hunching over your cane.”

“Are you really teaching if the kids aren’t learning? ”

“Fifth grade is an important year, and we need a teacher so fantastic that families don’t even think of transferring to another school for sixth grade. There are five families thinking of leaving – you’re not a strong enough teacher.”

“I’ve been disappointed in you from day one.”

Then, when sleep finally comes, I am teaching in a classroom with glass walls. I don’t have a lesson plan, and when I see the Lower School Director and the Head of School watching me, I panic, making one stupid mistake after another, knowing each is a nail in my coffin. The dream fades when memory wipes away the fear and reminds me that it’s over now. I survived being kicked to the curb, and – awful as it was to end my career on a low note – they can’t hurt me anymore.

I don’t need the book to pick up the themes these dreams share; in each one, I am caught off guard and helpless. That is the essence of ALS. No one is prepared for the diagnosis (most cases can’t be tied to a family history, and lifestyle seems completely irrelevant). To make matters worse, the diagnosis comes with a decree of helplessness since there isn’t a thing you can do to fight back. I’m guessing that I am reliving the trauma of the diagnosis, but I don’t think it has to continue.

I recently realized that I am not helpless, not by a long shot. How many pieces have I written detailing my commitment to my range of motion exercises, my eagerness to participate in drug trials 135164, my openness to new medications and protocols 136165 to manage my symptoms? I use the cough assist 137166 to keep my lungs strong, my feeding tube to maintain proper nutrition and hydration, and my tobii to prepare for when I lose my ability to speak. I am not sitting on the sidelines watching this monster consume me. I am fighting the dragon with a small dagger, slashing and slicing bit by bit until I bleed it dry. From now on, I will hold this gruesome, glorious image in my mind as I fall asleep. Maybe then I’ll dream of slaying the beast.

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.

Sleepwalking

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Tonight, after reading and listening to a podcast for a few hours, I felt stir-crazy from sitting for so long. I needed to get up. Specifically, I felt like trying out the Movements I saw on the Netflix series “The OA”. I was just about to do that when I remembered I could not get up.

This is not the first time I have forgotten my limits. Sometimes when I wake up, I plan on walking to the closet to pick out my clothing. It takes a few seconds of trying to swing my legs the edge of the hospital bed (how I miss the ankle-aching cold of morning floorboards beneath my bare feet!) to remember I can’t walk that far.

Perhaps I forget because I can walk in my dreams. Every time. However, even in my dreams, I am aware that walking is unusual for me. Usually, I dream that I am walking and then suddenly remember that, like Cinderella and her pumpkin and rag dress, my legs will return to being essentially useless by midnight. Sometimes, I even feel them weaken and my knees buckle. Even in my dreams, I cannot escape my disease.

Shrugging off the crushing weight of realizing my disability anew, I force myself to forget that I am stuck sitting and will continue sitting for the rest of my life, or until a cure is found. I look at Evan and my pets and try to let the feeling of being loved overwhelm the feeling of being trapped.

 

How To Pee From A Sling With Dignity

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Immediately upon being diagnosed with ALS, I heard from doctors, support groups, books, and websites that this disease will steal my dignity. I wanted to be on guard against this, but there was a problem: I didn’t have a clear understanding of what dignity means. It was always just a collage of images: Dame Judi Dench’s face, a smattering red shame, and a slug trail across the canvas indicating where self-respect left the building. Only when I was in danger of losing my dignity did I feel it running through me.

The night I learned about dignity started with horrible muscle spasms in my limbs. Fresh out of marijuana, I had to fall back on Vicodin, which is less effective and leaves me unable to move because my balance suffers so greatly. I was only a few hours into my deep narcotic sleep when I woke up with a serious problem: a painfully full bladder.

“Evan,” I whimpered to my sleeping husband. “I have to pee really bad!”

“I’ll get the walker,” he mumbled, easing out of bed.

“I can’t stand up for the transfer to the commode. The vicodin gave me noodle legs.”  I tried to keep my voice steady, but I was afraid that if I didn’t get to the commode fast enough, I would have an accident. It had happened a few times at the beginning of ALS. This was before I started a medicine that silenced the fried nerves tricking my poor bladder into letting go.

Evan paused, considering. “We have to use the Hoyer lift,” he concluded. “It’s our only option.”

I wiggled to help Evan put the Hoyer lift sling underneath me. Normally, it would wrap around my legs as well and hold me in the fetal position while Evan used the lift to raise me off the bed and put me in the wheelchair. However, now that I needed to land on the commode, my pants had to come off.

For the record, hanging pantsless in mid-air in one’s bedroom is not nearly as fun as it sounds, especially when abrasive canvas ropes curl a person so her legs are smashing a full bladder.

“Hurry,” I squeaked from inside the sling, trying hard not to panic.

“I’m lowering you over the commode now.”

Except when I landed on the commode, I was on my back. The commode is narrow and shallow. It does not tilt like my wheelchair to catch me as I descend. Evan immediately raised me up, promising, “I’ll try again. We’ll figure it out.”

At this point, the Vicodin had me thinking I was becoming a chimpanzee baby in a swinging leaf-cradle. I was not really in a place to strategize, and I silently thanked god for Evan.

However, one more try, and it was clear I would not be landing on the commode. I started crying. Between the way the Hoyer irritated my bare legs and my burgeoning belief that I would never be able to pee again (courtesy of the Vicodin), I was losing it.

“I think,” Evan began, then paused just long enough that I knew I wouldn’t like what he said next. He started again: “I’m going to hold the bucket from the commode under you; you’ll have to pee like that.”

By then, I was sobbing. “I can’t,” I cried. “It’s too humiliating.”

“It’ll be fine,” he soothed. “I swear this will work out just fine.”

As he said these last words, I felt the bucket press against the back of my thighs. I cried harder, the pain in my bladder sharpening.

“You can do this,” Evan encouraged me gently. “I’m right here.”

Choking on the mucus and tears of my embarrassment, I finally let my bladder go, mostly because I could not control it anymore. My hair clung to my sticky face, tangling in my lashes, and I looked for patterns in the textured ceiling to get my mind away from this horror. I couldn’t escape my feelings, though. Something vital around my heart fractured.

“That’s my dignity,” I thought, imagining I could see it floating away.

And then…

“You’re doing so well, honey,” Evan said, full of warmth and pride, all because I was peeing into the bucket he held.

The sound of his voice arrested the pieces in their ascent.

“Everything’s going well. There are no spills. I’m so proud of you.”

The pieces hovered and, in the unhurried way of feathers, drifted back down to me.

Then it was over. Evan removed the bucket and put it back in the commode. He put his face by mine, his hands brushing my hair and tears from my cheek, then kissed my forehead and said, “It’s all over, and you did so well. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah,” I replied softly, my breathing evening out.

Evan used the lift to settle me back in bed. He pulled up my pants and tucked me in. After the rough sling, my sheets felt luxurious. As I fell asleep, my thoughts returned to dignity, and I finally saw it clearly. Now I know how to use it.

Here’s how to pee from a sling (or do any other wacky thing your heart desires) with dignity :

  1. Know the nature of dignity: Understand that dignity is a fine gold filament threaded through the spine and pulled taut so a person can stand straight.
  2. Surround yourself with people who value your dignity: Your sense of dignity can be delicate. It has to be nurtured.
  3. Have confidence: With the right attitude and a solid friend, you can get away with almost anything. Just hold your head up and think of running water.