I received a bunch of well wishes on my 49th birthday from a group of awesome family and friends. It was a special day. However, with my diagnosis eleven months ago, I have come realize something – every day is special, you just have to look for it.
Some days like birthdays are automatically deemed special. Other days where you watch your son and a bunch of his friends win a state championship have a notable in-your-face flair about them. It is the seemingly mundane day that we overlook as just another day. One of my favorite movie dialogues is delivered by Morgan Freeman (wish I had his voice) in the movie “Evan Almighty”. He tells Evan’s troubled wife, “[l]et me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?” Mind you, this quote is true with or without the religious theme, we ultimately have the choice to see the opportunities during the day to make every one of them special.
Health wise…I am still experiencing very slow progression. My speech is mildly impacted due to some weakness in my diaphragm over the past six months. I still can walk unaided, but I do use a left foot brace and a walking stick on occasion. My right side has begun to twitch and cramp more noticeably, similar to my left side about two years ago. I can still drop a bunch of push ups, but my pull ups have become limited to weakness in my core. Fortunately, a bunch of Deerfield friends (thanks guys) have me experimenting with a rowing routine. We will see how that goes, it should hit everything, especially a good core workout.
All in all, I am doing well. Just ask Todd Steele who could not dump me tubing on the lake on the 4th, his son had to push me off.
