PSAwesome

On Monday of last week, this excellent PSA was released by Team Gleason. It was shown on the big screens inside the Superdome but needs to be shown repeatedly on major network television (ie ABC/CBS/NBC). Please watch, share with friends, and send to your local network television stations. This is the kind of message that needs to get in front of the eyeballs of America. This is the celebrity action we have been asking for. Now let's do our part in getting it out there.

A Very Special Olympics

People often ask, "How do you do this?" The simple answer is, I have no choice. There is only one alternative and that only interests me in terms of rhetoric not experience. But there is a deeper answer. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I can be one stubborn cuss. My grandmother used to say that I would argue with a fence post. I have always lived on my terms (often to my detriment) and this presented challenges which I learned to overcome. My chosen profession (Information Technology) gave me unique and complex challenges every day. Motor Neuron Disease is just another challenge. I see no reason why this one can't be overcome. MND tries to define you: how you look, how you act, how you live, and how you die. I have defined myself and am not about to change. Instead of MND defining me, I define it. It is hurdle to jump. It is a hill to ski. It is just another event in which I compete. Like an Olympic athlete, technology gives me the equipment to compete. Assistive equipment allows me mobility, helps with personal tasks, and keeps me nearly as engaged with the external world as when I was healthy. And it keeps me alive. As with Olympic athletes, I am part of a team. I have a personal team of family, caregivers and doctors without whom I could not succeed. These are my coaches, trainers, and equipment handlers. I compete for them as well as for myself. And I am competing for the Gold. That is why I do this: I intend to win.