Greetings!

If you've reached this blog, most of you probably know by now that in March of 2006 I was offically diagnosed with ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease). For those of you who are not familar wth ALS, here's a quick recap of what the disease is all about. For more detailed information please go to www.alsa.org

What is ALS?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected.

If you read the paragraph above the prognosis for a heathly, happy future seems rather grim. Based on that you may find it odd or even hard to believe that I'm doing fantastic!

Yes, my speech is a bit slurred and I have trouble eating and swallowing some foods. Yes, weakness and degradation of the motor skills in my left arm have made it more difficult to do some basic things and to excel in some sporting activities that I was once excelled in.

But those minor inconveniences today are all balanced by the incredible experiences, relationships, and outpouring of love and caring that I have experienced since my diagnosis.

I think that all of us (from the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to a day laborer and everyone in between) carries some weight or burden of insecurity around in their life. Am I a good freind, son/daughter, father/mother, husband/wife, co-worker, employee, manager, teammate, coach, etc?

It's hard to ever answer that question until a crisis like this presents itself. Ultimately, based on the the overwhelmingly positive response I've seen from everyone that I have close relationships with in my life, my diagnosis has helped me validate and narrow the above question down to 2 answers:

A) I truly am a good freind, son, father, etc.
B) I'm doing a heck of a job fooling everyone!

Whatever the reality is (probably a combination of A & B above) not everyone has the opportunity to experience the kind of love and support that I've experienced before they pass on. For that I'll be forever grateful. Without it, I probably would be wallowing in sorrow and misery, but with the support and dedication of so many people that are reaching out to help me, my family and the ALS cause in general, how could I possibly not find tremendous strength and inspiration in that?

I'll continue to update this site on a regular basis so that you can check in on the progression of my disease, I can share stories of inspiration, and help communicate news about how you can continue to help in the fight to find a cure for ALS.

Cheers!

Darren Dent
NGU (Never Give Up)