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.
My first symptomatic expression of ALS may have been as I left a football game. I fell flat on my face. At the time, I blamed it on the sun and the beer, although that combination in the same dosages had not felled me before. Shortly after, I became prone…
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” ―Emily Post In case we ever meet, I want to apologize in advance if I ever appear insensitive to, or unaware of, your feelings. That is…
“You just got lesson No. 1: Don’t think; it can only hurt the ball club.” That was the advice that Kevin Costner, who portrayed baseball player “Crash” Davis, dispensed to Tim Robbins, who portrayed rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh, in the 1988 film “Bull Durham.” Ordinarily, I opt…
Love, according to the Bible’s First Epistle to the Corinthians 13:7, “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” As Labor Day approaches in the U.S., it is fitting to honor the one occupation that, within the above context, may aptly be characterized as a labor of love. Thank God…
“Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” ―St. Vincent de Paul I never knew the comical extent of my pride until ALS hit me. Prior to its impact on my life, I prided myself on my independence and the manner by which I presented myself to the…
“You can either celebrate what you can do, or mourn what you can’t. Every day I wake up and create a new normal. I don’t dwell on what has changed, but instead, I focus on keeping busy achieving my goals.” –Augie Nieto II, fitness pioneer Nieto and I, independently,…
“Use it, or lose it.” That was the motivational summary statement during my first post-ALS diagnosis physical therapy (PT) session. As my condition’s horrific prognosis continued percolating in my brain, I replied, “Don’t you mean ‘use it, while you watch yourself lose it?’” There is an ongoing debate over whether…
“Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.” –William Law Today I experienced an uninterrupted utopia, recognizing that utopia may be a subjective, non-absolute concept, best expressed in the eye of the beholder. Allow me to describe what l beheld. It began with an unwanted, mildly disturbing occurrence. In…
That is the question. Vitamin B, that is. And any other nutritional supplement. Shortly after ALS crashed my party, I was introduced to the book “Eric Is Winning,” by Eric Edney. Edney was a long-term ALS survivor (over 20 years) who attributed his longevity to a regimen that included,…
“Hope is the thing with feathers” –Emily Dickinson Recently, my wife and I went to see a stand-up comedian at our local indoor stadium. My fervent hope was that our evening together would be a unifying, restorative one. It was in that spirit that we performed all of the mental and…
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