Notes From the ALS Front - a Column by Rick Jobus

living, what's next, train, sweetness, support groups

Rick is a 62-year-old man who was diagnosed with ALS in January 2007. Currently a resident of Southwest Florida, he has lived in four other metropolitan areas, but greater Chicagoland will always be “home.” Rick is a degreed engineer, spending his career in the medical device industry. He’s had the good fortune of extensive travel throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He writes, in part, to be an ALS advocate. Additionally, it is his hope that his output will help dispel the myth that technical folk and digestible prose aren’t mutually exclusive.

Life Amid a Torrent of Fire and Rain

“Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus?/ You gotta help me make a stand./ You just got to see me through another day./ My body is achin’ and my time is at hand./ I won’t make it any other way.”…

What’s Next After Your Ship Comes In?

“What do we do now?” That line from the 1972 movie “The Candidate” came to mind recently. The movie stars Robert Redford as a political neophyte. Redford’s character, Bill McKay, is offered as a sacrificial lamb…

Applause Springs Forth From a Crash Landing

No one applauds when the train is on time. That was the metaphor I invoked during the portion of my career spent in system implementation and post go-live support organizations within the pharmacy automation industry. I suggested that ensuring uptime was…

A Surprise Course in Life Support 101

“Love the One You’re With.” In his 1970 release, Stephen Stills advised folks to show carnal affection for whomever fate paired them with. If the prurient intent is replaced with agape treatment, and the noun is made plural, the lyric becomes…

Finding Sweetness in the Eye of the Storm

Just like Lionel Barrymore as James Temple in “Key Largo“ and Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan Taylor in “Forrest Gump,” I survived a hurricane wheelchair-bound. Unlike the original works that those two movies are derived from, my hurricane…

Learning to Cherish a Room With a View

Last week, I ended this column with a tongue-in-cheek inference that in deference to an improbable ALS curse befalling me, I would not share two near-disaster experiences anytime soon. This week, I am reneging on that prediction with the following disclaimer:…