"Our Team is Growing!"

"Our Team is Growing!"

If you've been following the Walk to Defeat ALS results, you might think this post is going to be about the growth of the Bill's Backers Walk Team and the mercurial monetary support we're gleaning for the work of the ALS Association. But you'd be wrong. I'm referencing here the expanding number of folks involved in the care and support of Dorothy and me on this ALS journey. I guess we might call them the Bill's Backers Care Team.

Since the beginning of our journey we've benefitted from the expertise of those who knew more about this journey than we did or cared to know - neurologists at both the Cleveland Clinic and the OSU University ALS and MDA/ALS clinics - physical therapists, pulmonary doctors, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dietitians, social workers, nurses, even sales people of helpful equipment - the staff of the ALS Association of Central & Southern Chapter - members of our ALS support group, the Living With ALS, For PALS Only Facebook page, the ALS Forums and related sites. (Notice how big even this part of the team is/has been!)

Then there have been those family members (children, parents, brothers and sisters, in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews, grandchildren), friends (OG, ONU, United Seminary and those from many other places and settings), former teammates and coaches, church members, members of youth groups I had the privilege to work with, new and former neighbors, hair stylist (not much to work with but she nurtures my vanity by doing it anyway), nail specialist, newspaper reporters, the community of brother and sister clergy and members of church staffs I had the privilege of working with over the years, members of the ONU trustees and ONU community - all of whom have offered us either words of encouragement, stopped to visit, gone on trips with us, assured us of our being in your prayers, called to talk to Dorothy, gone out to eat with me/us, brought food in, stayed in touch with me via Facebook and email, provided me/us tickets to OSU football and basketball games, sat with us in our home, organized and/or sponsored benefits with us (Putnam County ALS Benefit and Golf Outing, Jersey Mikes, City BBQ in particular and still coming up this fall again - September 10 is this year's City BBQ event, September 19 & 20 at Jersey Mikes, and the Putnam event is September 28), helped us move a couple of times, cried and/or laughed with us. (Do you want to estimate how many people are on this team so far?! I will assure you it's over 1000 and I'm not about to try to figure it out exactly!)  

(Yes, I know, two paragraphs with only one sentence in each one! Please don't share this with my former english teachers!)

Well, as is the reality of this disease - known for its random and dissimilar journey through each of our ALS bodies and lives - things change, new physical realities strike with little to no warning. And with these new challenges come the addition of new team members - ours being the members of the new Ohio Health ALS clinic and the therapists we've met and spent time with as we've dealt with my falling, aides to help me shower, PALS' families and others who've shared equipment with us, home visits by therapists to provide us other ideas of what we can further or still do, Maple Grove staff and members who offer to help us in ways they and we are still unsure what that might look like, and now the hospice staff with their advice, promptness in responding, a different sort of lifeline support, and their assurance of being with us no matter how long the journey yet to be experienced/enjoyed/lamented/coped with/or endured.

It's quite a team that has rallied and gathered around us, as is the case for so many who have to deal with life-challenging illnesses! We feel quite blessed, supported, loved, and very thankful! Yes, it does take a community to deal with life's challenges! Actually, our experience notes that it takes more than one community - it takes a team of communities and we are so appreciative of the way ours has grown! Sure we wish it didn't have to be, but it sure is nice to know that we have so many teammates to help with the fight/battle/game!!!!!

Peace, Bill's Backers teammates!!!