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Just Diagnosed (8/4/99) Hello there, Friend, There is a saying, perfect love casts out all fear. It's okay to have such emotions. It's okay to be angry, sad, fearful, to cry or to look around and say, "Wow, how wonderfully blessed I am to have such a loving, supportive spouse and my children." In spite of the blessings, there are the realities, but guess what? There will never, ever be anything that comes your way that you won't be able to handle. Nothing! You can handle it. You will handle it. And, if you're even a tiny bit like some of the other hundreds of PALS I've ever met, some of the finest character traits ever to be known to mankind will manifest themselves in the next few weeks, months and years---from you---just like so many others on this and other web sites. It's the hope in all of us that helps us get through each day. It's also the friends who are there, have been there, who are also there for us and for each other, knowing that we aren't alone, knowing that someone else knows, someone else understands, and that somewhere there are lots of friends whom we might not have met in person, but still friends. A friend in need is a friend indeed, yes, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Sometimes one only has to reach out and touch someone else to find a friend, for being a friend is to develop a friend. As your friend, I ask you not to believe everything you hear, such as the stuff regarding "terminal" or the "two to five" years junk---I'm almost of the opinion that the assumption of a terminal illness is dubious at best and at least highly questionable. You see, last week, I just had my 17th birthday that dozens of doctors said I'd never live to see without life support equipment, and yet I've never been on such equipment---I'm typing this at a pretty fast speed, can talk as well as I could in earlier years, and sometimes participate in walk-a-thons for raising funds for ALS research. Others have had similar results as I have. Still others have slowed the progression of the disease; some have stopped it altogether; and a number of us have reversed the course of symptoms after being near the bottom. So don't ever give up hope. Don't ever give into that fear. Take charge of your own life, your own treatment, try alternative things that others have done successfully, and (if you're not a giver) learn to give to others. For it is in your giving to others that you receive. It is your being a friend that you acquire a friend. It is thru your loving others that you will be loved. Don't worry about the future as much as you enjoy today, for today has enough problems without dreaming up ones that might not materialize tomorrow. One day at a time. One step at a time. Doing. Giving. Receiving. Loving. Sharing. You're not alone, and if you didn't know it before now, you never were alone. It may be standing somewhere in the shadows that one doesn't readily see or recognize, but somewhere nearby, you'll always find a friend who always cares and understands. Few and far between? Yes, in today's society. But another saying is, you have not because you ask not---you put out some "feelers" for a friend, right? And what have you received? Friends and more friends. Not too shabby, huh? Hi Friend!! Glad to call you friend! Email me anytime---questions---fears---dry towel---whatever. And if you and your family are ever in Colorado, let me know in advance---I'll take you trout fishing at my favorite lake in summer time---or to dinner, if you don't like to fish. rwhitewatchman@msn.com or home phone: 719-687-2785, preferably afternoons or evenings mountain time. |
