3 months out

Well, one thing I have learned is that every new day brings a new set of issues related to my ALS. This week has been a particularly bad week as I have only made it to the office 1 day out of the 4 so far. I am thankful for my PM Libby and our GM Dan who have graciously allowed me to work from home when needed. Previous to this week I think I was averaging 1 day a week working at home. Being that this disease is progressive, I do not see it getting any better as time goes by.

This week started out with a Compensation& Pension exam where a Nurse Practitioner went over the diagnosis, made some strength observations of the arms and legs to verify the established measurements. As expected my strength is declining overall. Tried to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate Valentines day last night and it was all I could do to get the cap off. Anyway the results from Monday's C&P exam were sent directly to the Regional Board in Columbia and it should be a very quick turn around for them being that they have already reviewed the record and were just waiting on exam results.

For some background I though I would share some history of the VA and it's recognition of ALS as service connected...Up until 2008 the best you could hope for is a 30% disability rating for an ALS diagnosis. This was, until a study came out that showed the veterans were twice as likely to be diagnosed with it as the civilian population. Once this realization hit the decision makers it did not take long for them to revamp their process and declare ALS as a presumptive service connected disability with a 100% disability rating.

I urge you to support a group called The Compassionate Care Group. There are state chapters in every state and they advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana which has been proven to help treat so many diseases. I have no desire to put massive amounts of pharma chemicals in my body to control joint and muscle pain and a host of other symptoms that come with ALS. This plant has been used as medicine for thousands of years all over the world until 1937 when the federal government realized they were missing out on tax revenue and placed a tax on it. Did not take long for the sale to move underground to avoid the new tax and in true government fashion, they made it illegal because they couldn't control it.  I applaud the states that have stepped up and passed legislation to legalize it and hope the trend continues. If your state has not moved to do this, contact you representatives and urge them to introduce and/or support existing bills that will do so.

Until next time, stand tall, press on and never ever ever give up.

#ALSSUCKS   #THEBATTLEISJOINED