The One Thing That Has Kept Me Going After My Primary Lateral Sclerosis Diagnosis

When I was diagnosed in November of 2012 with PLS (primary lateral sclerosis), a variant of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at age 56, my world did a 180 degree turn and I literally fell apart. I met Dr. Terry Heiman-Patterson and her team soon after that and together we became a team fighting my disease. I’ve had successes, setbacks and so many times when I’ve wanted to give up, but I’ve held onto something that kept me going.

 

The one thing that keeps me going is hope. Hope is always having a light at the end of my tunnel. Hope is a goal. Hope is a dream. Hope is faith that someone or something out there is fighting for me to come out on top. Hope is the positive feeling that everything will, in time, be alright.

My team continues to be like a family. We laugh, we cry and we keep on discussing the best course of action for me to continue living as normal a life as possible.

Finally, hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life totally beyond one’s control. I feel very blessed to have Dr. Patterson I thank her and my team for caring.

“I’m not always sure how courageous my heart is, but I am sure there’s always hope in it.”

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Thinkstock photo via monkeybusinessimages.