It hasn't escaped my attention that I haven't posted anything of any real substance in a while.
Things have been busy, but not hectic.
We've made a few visits to Cora's school. Parent/teacher conferences, a book fair, a Christmas sing-song, and Amanda has been helping in Cora's classroom on Tuesday mornings for an hour or so.
I have -- barely -- continued working out. The Thanksgiving food-fest, and a snap of bad weather got between me and the weight room.
But my efforts have shown some small rewards. I continue to bike 3 miles as a warm up. I move on to preacher curls and incline press with a medicine ball. Leg curls and extensions follow before I finish with some squats on to a yoga ball.
We recently added a little more weight to my leg exercises. The response in my legs has been uplifting, but my arms and shoulders are way behind. Still, the workout help with my range of motion, so there's that silver lining.
I owe thanks to Richie for babysitting me during my activities, and Coach Whitten for helping me workout (I'm certain he spots about 7lbs of support when I lift the 5lbs medicine ball!).
Why workout? There's some evidence to that shows a moderate workout can slow the progression of ALS.
Still, I workout with the hope of a positive impact, not certainty.
It helps with my frame of mind, but it does not ward off the darker thoughts in my mind. it's hard to look at the atrophy my body has suffered in the weight room mirrors and ask myself questions like, "How much longer do you have to live?"
The words of Doctors resonate in my mind like a shift on a jackhammer...progress is at different rate for each patient, but the rate is constant...
If I've lost the use of my arms, and my legs are wobbly after two years, do I have another two years left? Less?
Only time will tell.
You have always been a competitor, always been tough, always had great pride in yourself and your team, you have always set high standards! That is why you were a team Captain...not a title many earn in life....ALS may lower the amount of weight you lift, but it cannot take away those things nor will it prevent you from continuing to set the example for your children and others .
ReplyDeleteI agree with Coach. Muscle mass and the ability to lift bits of metal are no indicator of a man's worth. The prisons are teaming with life's failures, who have none the less trained themselves to an almost preposterous degree.
ReplyDeleteCourage, integrity, compassion, understanding, honesty - these are the mark of a man.
And any way, there are plently of 'healthy' folk who couldn't cycle three miles! :-)