When you look back at earlier posts on my blog, you will find many stories about my youth and several about my kids, my wife and the shenanigans we played.
Now I move to the present, where lie the crazy antics of my current living environment. Hang on. It has its whoop-de-doos!
Me, Amy, my daughter Sarah, my son-in-law Tim, my three grandsons Alex, Isaac and Asa and, for a time, Rachel, in one house, yes. This is my view of my life. This is truly the best way to live. It is about sacrifice, chaos, confusion, love, sorrow and family. It is why I live today.
If I were alone to contemplate my past, to ease my soul, to forgive myself and others, to reduce my stress and to regain my composure I would lose it all in an instant if not for the presence of my family.
To say that ALS is emotionally actuated, stress perpetuated and psychologically damaging is only partially correct. While stress and depression can cause physical symptoms, the physical systems can also cause stress and bring on depression. Both sequences are equally damaging. If I'm having a good day and my swallowing becomes labored or my neck becomes problematic or my fasciculations increase, my stress increases. The physical elements of ALS are not merely responses to mental breakdowns but tangible identifiers of neurological malfunction, naturally exacerbated by the stress and depression it generates. The result is a pendulum arcing between physical and psychological distress.
The cure remains uncertain, not completely identified. The pieces of the puzzle are known to all, but all are not attempting to solve the same puzzle. There is no one community of effort. Either/or will never assemble a cure. The answer lies beyond the grasp of individuals. Only a unified and unbiased congregation possesses the tools necessary to crack the case, to find the pieces, to solve the puzzle.
Next post will reveal what a wonderful life I have.
Now I move to the present, where lie the crazy antics of my current living environment. Hang on. It has its whoop-de-doos!
Me, Amy, my daughter Sarah, my son-in-law Tim, my three grandsons Alex, Isaac and Asa and, for a time, Rachel, in one house, yes. This is my view of my life. This is truly the best way to live. It is about sacrifice, chaos, confusion, love, sorrow and family. It is why I live today.
If I were alone to contemplate my past, to ease my soul, to forgive myself and others, to reduce my stress and to regain my composure I would lose it all in an instant if not for the presence of my family.
To say that ALS is emotionally actuated, stress perpetuated and psychologically damaging is only partially correct. While stress and depression can cause physical symptoms, the physical systems can also cause stress and bring on depression. Both sequences are equally damaging. If I'm having a good day and my swallowing becomes labored or my neck becomes problematic or my fasciculations increase, my stress increases. The physical elements of ALS are not merely responses to mental breakdowns but tangible identifiers of neurological malfunction, naturally exacerbated by the stress and depression it generates. The result is a pendulum arcing between physical and psychological distress.
The cure remains uncertain, not completely identified. The pieces of the puzzle are known to all, but all are not attempting to solve the same puzzle. There is no one community of effort. Either/or will never assemble a cure. The answer lies beyond the grasp of individuals. Only a unified and unbiased congregation possesses the tools necessary to crack the case, to find the pieces, to solve the puzzle.
Next post will reveal what a wonderful life I have.
Somehow exacerbated was corrected to exasperated or something like that. The word is exacerbated. Significant difference, I know. Sorry folks! I hope you all read this and realize I'm not a total idiot.
ReplyDeleteYou just discussed the CURE by shining a light on the problem. IT's why healing is so difficult. It's not that we dont' have the answer. It's that the answer isn't easy to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteHow can you thwart the stress response in the midst of discomfort and sadness? How do you trick your mind and body into the relaxation response with your nerves jumping and chaos around. The people who have healed will TELL us how they did it. Why do we need a congregation of paper pushers to document through standard channels that will then gum up the works and add costs to everything. Why can't we all band together as a community and practice what the healed say helped them instead of waiting for MORE proof.
Stumbled upon your blog, thought I'd tell you the following:
ReplyDeleteI recently published my article on newly researched natural medicinal plants and their potential for reversing the progression of ALS, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. It can be found at:
http://ayahuascatreatment.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/ayahuasca-ethnobotanical-medicine-for-treatment-of-als/
It is the culmination of several years work, having studied ethnobotanical medicine and the field of neurodisease, making connections between the two in the search for something viable in terms of an alternative treatment option. I have been greatly motivated by the unfortunate loss of a close friends' mother due to ALS some years ago. Hopefully, you will find it an important topic. It is currently being discussed on several online forums related to the subject matter.
I wish you a nice day, and that you share this information, should you find it interesting.
Regards,
Daniel Gustafsson, Sweden