Taking Inventory

For the next several days I spent silent hours meditating on what was going on in my body and what options, if any, did I have to either slow the progression and/or make my life better. My legs were very weak and I had to use a wheelchair in the house for safety's sake. My speech was slurry and hesitant at times but then it would seem normal again. My fingertips had a strange feeling in them and it was difficult to manipulate objects. My one fear was not being able to type, research or keep in contact with friends and family.

It was absurd to dwell on the impossible but I could research motor neurons and find out what was causing them to die off. I did this and without getting technical about glutamates, I such discovered that protection of the cell was of utmost importance. Without mortgaging the house to be able to take the only approved drug, Rituzole, how else could I accomplish this feat.

I always have said there is no such thing as coincidence. And that is how I met a special man, a Biochemist and researcher,Bill Kent, only a few days later. A friend who is legally blind asked me to speak on the phone to this man who was giving her information about Parkinson's disease. I needed to give him some information she couldn't read. We got to talking and he told me about his website which identified natural foods and vitamins for hundreds of diseases. He was an avid proponent of natural healing and just the person I needed. We proceeded to have many conversations about ALS and his research gave me an assortment of ideas and the names of natural foods and vitamins I could safely take to inhibit cell death. Was there any guarantee? No. But Rituzole didn't come with a guarantee either and it claimed to do the same thing. The only difference was the many, nasty side effects that came along with it. Liver damage and a reduction of lung capacity being two of the important ones. The expense was also a negative to me.

So it was that we became partners in my quest to have more time with my family. Only time will tell. The "doing" of it was the important thing. And whatever the outcome, God Bless Bill Kent for helping me.