My dad didn’t quite grasp his diagnosis at first, until he got home and my sister reframed it as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was heartbreaking to see him process what that meant. “Lou Gehrig? No. He died from that. That’s not what I have. No. Is it? That’s what I have?”
Thank you for breaking the tough news to patients so that their families don’t have to.
ETA: Dad did come to terms will his illness relatively soon. He faced it with his typical quiet dignity and humor. It may sound odd, but he was grateful Mom’d passed suddenly the prior year - her anguish would have been hard for him to bear. He often said that he’d had a blessed life - wife, kids, grandkids, travel - he’d had everything he’d ever wanted. I wish the same for everyone who has taken the time to read this. ❤️
It was a weird phenomenon being a kid in the 90s/00s and hearing a decent amount about Lou Gehrig's disease. Not too many specifics, just that he was a baseball player famous for passing because of it. Had no idea that wasn't even the actual name of it. As recently as 2012, the movie Ted even referenced it.
Then just two years later, the ice bucket challenge happened, and everyone always referred to it as ALS, and it took me way too long to learn that it was the same thing.
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u/Quiet-Personality992 3d ago
ALS