Mark's Notebook


	If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun of him. - Thomas Carlyle

Living for Today, Locked in a Paralyzed Body

New York Times

Sunday 7 November 2004, 12:59 pm
Keywords: News Articles , Health Topics

By John Schwartz and James Estrin

A.L.S., or Lou Gehrig's disease, is often described as a kind of living death in which the body goes flaccid while the mind remains intact and acutely aware. The prospect of being trapped in an inert body and being totally dependent on others drives many sufferers to suicide.

What keeps many patients alive, experts say, is a sense of having unfinished business - perhaps a milestone "like getting the last kid off to college," said Dr. Mellar P. Davis, a professor of hematology and medical oncology at the Cleveland Clinic.

Many patients, Dr. Ganzini said, have deep religious beliefs that help sustain them, and they are able, "to find hope in the future, find meaning and tolerate the daily ongoing losses that they are experiencing."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/health/07ALS.html?th

Mark says: My Uncle Marvin had this disease for a while before he passed away. We actually considered teaching him sign language so he could communicate. He could think clearly but he could not speak.