- All my life I've been called accepting, adaptable and positive, what with my mom changing husbands and me getting step fathers over and over again. It's served me well in this chapter of my journey. I never say, "Why me?" Instead I say, "Why not me?" ...because it seems I have the perfect personality to get ALS. After a day or two of feeling sad with every loss, I end up accepting it. The one loss I do dread is losing the ability to communicate.
- Once I said, "It chaps my butt when I can't share my wisdom." When my friend Cathy heard that, she recommended this blog.
- You can choose happiness. You have that power.
- Always give people a chance. They can surprise you.
- Never say never. I still have a living will that says I don't want extra-ordinary medical interventions like a feeding tube and a ventilator. Now I have both and I'm glad I do!
- And finally "The Life of the Unattended Itch". Since I can't swallow I sometimes drool and I depend on my caregivers to keep my chin dry but sometimes, especially at night when my caregivers are asleep, the saliva stays there for a while. It dries. It itches - a lot - and it causes a piercing pain. Because I can't move I've learned what happens next. The pain eventually goes away! It comforts me that I know this and can count on it. Something I never would have known when I was able-bodied.
Love, Dewie
Dewie, I love reading about your unattended itch. When I read your words, I felt some discomfort in my body just thinking about not being able to scratch the itch. The helplessness always makes me uncomfortable. Then, when I read that as you are still through it -- it disappears. What a lesson. Is this not the process?
ReplyDeleteHow much would be different in my life if I learned to be still through the itch? To allow it to pass rather than finding a temporary solution to make it go away. You describe so well the process I think we all could benefit from learning.
I will use your story as I work with clients -- as I work with ME! Love your wisdom, sweet Dewie!