“I’m thankful for my illness,” said Steve one day. I was shocked.
Steve was a patient with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), one of the most awful illnesses I’ve ever seen in my work as a hospice music therapist. Patients with ALS gradually lose their abilities to use their bodies, and eventually their breathing will be affected, resulting in death. But their minds remain sharp until the very end, so they’re fully aware of their declining conditions. I don’t know if there is any other illness as frightening and cruel as ALS. That’s why Steve’s comment surprised me.
He was a successful businessman in his late 50’s. Only a few years before he was diagnosed with ALS and was no longer able to walk or use his hands. He was lying in bed all day now, and breathing was becoming difficult each day. So I…
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