December 2017
To all our dear friends, our PALS,
Today is Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017. We decided this would be a good time for me to write our monthly update. It was six years ago yesterday that we sat with our neurologist in the exam room and listened, as all PALS do, to the most depressing, fateful, and discouraging report of our lives. As every PALS that we have had the privilege of communicating with over the last six years of this journey, we listened to a review of all the tests and lab reports, and were simply told the disease was not only fatal, but it was untreatable. We were told we were not candidates for any clinical trials or experimental treatments, but when we were ready for hospice, they would be able to assist. Though my neurologist would only say that the average life expectancy was 3 to 5 years, my general practitioner told us just a week later that one year was possible, but that I had no chance of seeing two.
Two days ago, on the 21st of November, I took my sweetheart of 48 years to Mesa, AZ, some three hours from our winter home in Yuma, for a lovely commemoration of our wedding ceremony, including a nice lunch, and later a dinner following an uplifting movie, “Let There Be Light” (I highly recommend this movie). The sweetness of this little escape is heightened by the realization of the true gift we have been given; several more years here together on our way to eternity.
We returned home yesterday, Wednesday, the 22nd, where I celebrated the other significant event, “the diagnosis”, by walking a round of golf. Admittedly, it was only a 9-hole par three, and I didn’t play my best round, but I walked and I played.
As we have had the great privilege of coming to know so many of you, our PALS, and those that love you, our greatest yearning is that each and every one of you can have the success we have had. Though we believe all the physical things that we have done, the diet changes, the supplements, the detoxing and oxidative therapies that are now a regular part of our lives, have impacted our journey, the greatest gift we can give all of you is the gift of hope. As you come to know us, to know our story, our struggles and our successes, we trust that you will know we are real. We move forward every day and live life to the fullest. You must know that as such, you also can do what we have done.
I received a request from Dr. Bedlack of Duke University to complete another ALS-FRS-R to evaluate any changes in my condition. Of the twelve rating questions, I scored 4 out of 4 on ten and 3 out of 4 on the other two. Forty-six out of 48 sounds very impressive, but the two “threes”, “Walking” and “Climbing Stairs”, demonstrate clear signs I am not yet 100% healed. However, six years ago, my total score on the same test would have resulted in a score of 33 to 35. Though I acknowledge I still have a way to go, the improvement over these past six years is truly a blessing in our lives and is considered a miracle by many dear friends.
We have said many times that we believe one of the most important tools in healing is to heal the heart and the mind by giving service to those around us. For this, we owe a great debt of gratitude to all of you, our dear friends, for letting us into your lives as you put your own programs together for healing. We hope you recognize that you do not wait until you have found healing to implement this most important ingredient into your protocol. These little acts of kindness do not need to be for someone worse off than yourself. In the throes of this vicious disease, those may seem difficult to find. But it is very easy to find others you can lift, or touch in some way, and make their day brighter. Always find ways to lift those that come to lift you.
My hope is that as each one of us continue our struggle with this monster, that our lives will be better, whether or not we are as successful as we would wish. We must remember that we can only do all that we can, and that we must leave the rest is God’s Hands.
Please know that we are here, and welcome your contacts, whether for the first time or the tenth. We know well the path you are treading and thank you for letting us play a small part in your journey.
Our Deepest and Most Sincere Wishes,
Kim Cherry
To all our dear friends, our PALS,
Today is Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017. We decided this would be a good time for me to write our monthly update. It was six years ago yesterday that we sat with our neurologist in the exam room and listened, as all PALS do, to the most depressing, fateful, and discouraging report of our lives. As every PALS that we have had the privilege of communicating with over the last six years of this journey, we listened to a review of all the tests and lab reports, and were simply told the disease was not only fatal, but it was untreatable. We were told we were not candidates for any clinical trials or experimental treatments, but when we were ready for hospice, they would be able to assist. Though my neurologist would only say that the average life expectancy was 3 to 5 years, my general practitioner told us just a week later that one year was possible, but that I had no chance of seeing two.
Two days ago, on the 21st of November, I took my sweetheart of 48 years to Mesa, AZ, some three hours from our winter home in Yuma, for a lovely commemoration of our wedding ceremony, including a nice lunch, and later a dinner following an uplifting movie, “Let There Be Light” (I highly recommend this movie). The sweetness of this little escape is heightened by the realization of the true gift we have been given; several more years here together on our way to eternity.
We returned home yesterday, Wednesday, the 22nd, where I celebrated the other significant event, “the diagnosis”, by walking a round of golf. Admittedly, it was only a 9-hole par three, and I didn’t play my best round, but I walked and I played.
As we have had the great privilege of coming to know so many of you, our PALS, and those that love you, our greatest yearning is that each and every one of you can have the success we have had. Though we believe all the physical things that we have done, the diet changes, the supplements, the detoxing and oxidative therapies that are now a regular part of our lives, have impacted our journey, the greatest gift we can give all of you is the gift of hope. As you come to know us, to know our story, our struggles and our successes, we trust that you will know we are real. We move forward every day and live life to the fullest. You must know that as such, you also can do what we have done.
I received a request from Dr. Bedlack of Duke University to complete another ALS-FRS-R to evaluate any changes in my condition. Of the twelve rating questions, I scored 4 out of 4 on ten and 3 out of 4 on the other two. Forty-six out of 48 sounds very impressive, but the two “threes”, “Walking” and “Climbing Stairs”, demonstrate clear signs I am not yet 100% healed. However, six years ago, my total score on the same test would have resulted in a score of 33 to 35. Though I acknowledge I still have a way to go, the improvement over these past six years is truly a blessing in our lives and is considered a miracle by many dear friends.
We have said many times that we believe one of the most important tools in healing is to heal the heart and the mind by giving service to those around us. For this, we owe a great debt of gratitude to all of you, our dear friends, for letting us into your lives as you put your own programs together for healing. We hope you recognize that you do not wait until you have found healing to implement this most important ingredient into your protocol. These little acts of kindness do not need to be for someone worse off than yourself. In the throes of this vicious disease, those may seem difficult to find. But it is very easy to find others you can lift, or touch in some way, and make their day brighter. Always find ways to lift those that come to lift you.
My hope is that as each one of us continue our struggle with this monster, that our lives will be better, whether or not we are as successful as we would wish. We must remember that we can only do all that we can, and that we must leave the rest is God’s Hands.
Please know that we are here, and welcome your contacts, whether for the first time or the tenth. We know well the path you are treading and thank you for letting us play a small part in your journey.
Our Deepest and Most Sincere Wishes,
Kim Cherry