One Year
Rayslittleride. (2016, May 24). One Year. Retrieved from https://rayslittleride.com/2015/12/16/one- year/
t This blog post was written by a man who is telling his story of how his life is 1 year after the diagnosis of ALS. He talks about how he went from delivering babies and being on call at work to having to switch to strictly clinical work and then quitting altogether due to symptoms from his diagnosis. He went from being an outdoorsman hiking and adventuring to needing help getting dressed. he discusses how he is much slower now. He mentioned how he used to always have to wait on his wife to get ready whenever they went out, but now even if he starts getting ready before her she is still ready before him. His world flipped upside in less than a year. He discussed how hard it was for him to tell people. He didn't even know what to say and he has trouble saying "I have ALS." Everyone reacts different to being told about the diagnosis; some of his family blatantly ignored it and said they weren't going to deal with it until they had to while others didn't really understand what ALS was and had to research it before calling back being completely off-beaten by it. He talked about how they were having to modify and make adaptions not just to his clothing, but also their house. They lived in an old house that didn't have a bathroom downstairs. Installing a lift chair was too expensive, so they were having to see how they could make other adaptations for him to be able to be bathed ad showered since the stairs were beginning to be out of the question for him.
It amazes me his positivity and strength he shows throughout his blog post about facing this disease. The mental aspect is such an important part in any progressive disease like this, that has no cure. He ends his post by saying that despite everything, he is still standing. He might be a little bruised and beaten now, but he is still standing. His outlook on his life is remarkable; he sees it as a new adventure everyday that they have to face. I think an attitude like that is what keeps people like him fighting and carrying on, despite the fate they have been dealt.
I chose this because I think it is so important to see positivity and light in something others see as dim and hopeless. His outlook of facing every day head on as a new challenge to face and overcome is so special. it is an attitude I would hope I would have if I were ever to be in a circumstance such as him. we are all dealt cards in life and we have to play that hand. I just hope that I can play my hand as optimistically as Ray.
In this post you could see the deficits the disease was starting to leave Ray with. He no longer could dress himself and needed adaptive clothing to make dressing as easy as possible. You could see his physical health decline throughout his story of a year of his diagnosis. Also, you could see how quickly the disease progressed with him. His diagnosis was in the end of December and he already had to leave his job by the next August. Also, you could see the family dynamic that is in Ray's life. His family was there around him to help and comfort him and you can see how that has helped him throughout this process. Hearing something from a first hand experience always makes it more personal and you get a deeper understanding of how the disease plays a role in the daily life of someone. It isn't just words on paper anymore, it is someone who is a father, husband and friend.
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