While my late husband, Jeff, was living with ALS, a close family member was diagnosed with colon cancer and required immediate surgery. Fortunately, the cancer had been caught early, and the surgery was successful in eliminating it without complications. The unexpected cancer diagnosis meant that we now had a…
Columns
Cooler-than-average temperatures these last few weeks are turning our maple trees red, reminding me that winter is just around the corner. Due to caring for my husband, Todd, who has ALS, I don’t often get out to see the best of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — such as the shores…
Come on, do we really need another reminder to practice self-care? I think we do. I know I need it, especially because I have ALS and am living in a world that’s barreling down a bumpy track. The type of self-care I’m currently focusing on isn’t a self-indulgent three-day vacation,…
A friend who stopped by for a visit last weekend asked my husband, Todd, “Anything new?” “Not really,” he said. “So no more choking incidents?” she asked. “There have been choking incidents, and Kristin has to clear my lungs every couple days,” he replied, “but you asked if there was…
“I should be an ALS comedian. I know I could, too — that is, if it weren’t for my darn ALS.” That’s what I tell myself on the days when life’s funny moments come at me fast and furious. It’s another example of how this disease keeps on challenging…
Before my husband, Todd, had ALS, he enjoyed cooking. He often made omelets on Saturday mornings. He was skilled with a chef’s knife and cut ingredients quickly and finely before cooking the egg to perfection. I miss eating his omelets. Although I do all the actual cooking now,…
Often I do some of my deepest thinking when I’m alone in the car. I regularly drive 35 minutes to ride my horse, and I like to spend that time in silence. That’s when I think about people to contact or items on my to-do list for the week ahead.
Last Sunday, on the morning of our 22nd wedding anniversary, as I was getting my husband, Todd, out of bed, he asked if I’d heard the song “To Build a Home.” I hadn’t. “Alexa, play ‘To Build a Home‘ by the Cinematic Orchestra and Patrick Watson,” Todd said.
I know I’ve said this many times, but it’s worth repeating: One of the most important lessons ALS has taught me is to never give up. This leads me into this week’s column. It’s a story about shoes and my pursuit of the perfect pair. Spoiler alert: There’s a…
I was on schedule Monday morning to get out the door by 11:45 until I had an unwelcome visitor. I had a noon appointment for something that would be difficult to reschedule, so I got my husband, Todd, out of bed early. I parked his power wheelchair at his counter-height…
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