Yin and Yang

Happy whatever you celebrate!

I was looking back through my blog and don't believe I mentioned yet that this f***ing disease really sucks! OK, there, I said it... lets move on to the topics of this month's thoughts.






Now I'm no Chinese philosopher by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always believed in the physical balance that exists in the universe and am believing more and more in the spiritual equivalent.

So here's my top 10 list of examples of how the positive and negative balance themselves out when you have ALS

• I can't do the dishes anymore, so I don't have to do the dishes anymore!
• Ditto on the laundry and vacuuming!
• Debbie and I would never have been able to go to Europe until the kids were raised, but we got a chance to take the trip of a lifetime because of my disease.
• I can't fully dress myself anymore, so I get to spend special time each day with my kids who help dress me.
• I get to see my parents almost daily!
• I can't assemble all of those frustrating Christmas toys with 100 pieces and 25 decals, so I don't have to!
• I can't cook anymore, but I can teach, and my oldest son Trevor is becoming a great cook!
• My balance isn't great anymore and my speech is still slurred, but nobody ever knows when I'm drunk!
• Nobody ever lets me pay for lunch!
• And at the top of the list... I love Dungeness crab, but can't crack it on my own anymore. Everyone cracks it for me and I end up with this nice pile of incredible lump crab.

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

Thanks Mom and Dad!

As I continue down the path of this disease I have to thank my parents for doing such a great job of teaching me to be adaptive and being able to adjust to any situation. I'm forced to adapt and adjust how I do things every day and the ability to do so is coming in really handy!

Physical and Drug Study Update

I was in a drug study from April through October and found out that I was on a low dose of an experimental drug called Ritonavir. There was a higher dose as part of the study, but it was making people worse so they stopped that part of the study. Based on the fact that a high dose was making things worse, I decided against continuing to take the drug.

Shortly after I stopped, my rate of decline accelerated. Whether it's coincidental or not, we'll never know, but I went back on the drug just in case.

We're shooting for some additional studies in mid to late 2007., but they never seem to come soon enough.

Physically, my balance isn't great, my hands continue to worsen, but the biggest pain in the neck, is the pain in my neck (sorry for the really bad pun) The muscles in my neck and shoulders are weakening and they have to carry around that pea brain of mine that fill that big old anvil head. We're trying to develop a more ergonomic position at the computer because that's the root of much of the pain.

Europe

The details could take hours to write. Everywhere we went was special in its own way. We were so lucky to have incredible hosts and friends in London that made us feel at home but also carted us around London. Thanks Helen and Jerry! It was also great to spend a few hours with the InterCall folks in Bracknell. They are going to rock the web world in 2007!

Our 24 hour surprise trip to Paris was highlighted by our lunch at the top of The Eiffel Tower, our stay at an incredible chic Hotel and a very memorable dinner that night at a small intimate little bistro. All of this was made possible by Jen Lansink, her family and her fiance' Alex. Can't thank you enough!

If you haven't been to Italy you need to go. Florence was incredible, highlighted by a 10 hour tour of the Chianti region of Tuscany made possible by many of my dear friends at InterCall. I promise I'll get the pictures up soon!

Lake Como was everything people said it would be and the drive to Bellagio was an incredible experience unto itself (Think of a windy, super narrow, 2 lane road on the side of a cliff).

Venice is so incredibly unique and I was really fascinated by it's historical place in the world during the mid 1000s. If you like to shop and eat, go to Venice!

I'm going to wrap it up now. Thanks for everything from every single one of you. I love you all!

DD (ALFTY) Always Look For The Yang!