Mounting With Wings

Below is a brief update (that I sent to our daughter, Bethany, who was on a mission trip to Dominican Republic) of our three day trip last week to the National Institute of Health (NIH). Incidentally, I am super excited because she got home safely from DR last night! My cousin, James Gulley, works at NIH in cancer research and helped to get us an appointment for a “second opinion” with the top ALS neurologist there. What a blessing! It is a research hospital and all government funded so they arranged and paid for the flight and even gave a daily pardiem for food while there.  God provides in amazing ways! Here is what I sent Bethany: “We sure are looking forward to you being home on Tuesday!.... I just wanted to give you a quick update about our NIH trip this week. We had a direct, easy flight both ways and make good connections with the NIH shuttle.  Tuesday we went to NIH and filled out some paperwork and then spent the night with James and Trenise. We had a full (8:30-5:30

I think early on after my diagnosis, even though I tried to “talk faith”, I was somewhat in denial and dealing with very real emotions. Trying to grapple with the question, “how does one still act ‘normal’ and continue to ‘do life’ with a diagnosis such as ALS?” was often on my mind. I noticed that people kind of look at you with a wondering look when you have a diagnosis over your head; they don’t know exactly what to say. Tears came easily for me and I seemed to be in somewhat of a haze.  Looking back, I think I was stuck in a cocoon of thoughts and questions the whole month of October.  The month was filled with many things such as going as a family back home to Virginia where Kevin had the memorial service for some dear friends, traveling to more medical appointments, taking a lot of “hammock time” to think and pray, going to the “Healing ALS conference”, reading numerous notes and texts from friends, and enjoying a weekend with my siblings trying to help us figure out “the pl