Tonight we are planning on going to the basketball games between Buena Vista and our alma mater, Luther. I always look forward to seeing the Norse come to town even though the number of people I recognize gets smaller every year. I am sure that I will talk with some of the visitors as well as my Buena Vista friends. That means one thing is definitely in my future. I am going to have a sore throat by the time we return home.
In fact, I have had a sore throat after every basketball game this year. It’s not because I have been yelling at the referees. I gave up that practice back in college when I usually had a microphone in front of my face. No, my throat gets sore simply from trying to carry on normal conversations in the gymnasium. My voice continues to weaken and when I get in a large space, I really have to strain in order to be heard. Even then, Ann is usually the only one who can understand me and is stuck trying to translate.
Still, what I have now is far better than not being able to speak at all. Many ALS patients lose their voices quickly and completely. I am thankful to have the capability to croak out anything at all. And sometimes I’m not.
That’s my challenge every day. Sometimes I am great at it. Sometimes I wallow in my own self-pity. So how do I get over feeling sorry for myself? I guess it is something different every time. And sometimes I don’t and go to bed grumpy. Ann can attest to that.
Lately, I have been drawing a lot of inspiration from people who are committed to stopping ALS and those who take care of people with ALS. The level of generosity and selflessness that some individuals exhibit absolutely amazes me. Their acts of love range from the simple to the profound. But regardless of their magnitude, those actions are incredibly heartening and truly fill me with gratitude and hope. They give so much of themselves that dealing with a sore throat seems pretty minor.