Calling Passionate People

We got home yesterday from clinic, always a tiring day for both of us, a little after 6 and crashed for the night. Seeking to "veg out", we flipped on Netflix and settled on a documentary called "Spinning Plates". It's about three diverse restaurants in three very different locales and the people who run them. 

The film begins by introducing the three restaurants and the film's narration is entirely the owners voices. The common thread is a subject that's been dear to my heart since early youth: Passion. I guess that comes from my Dad who was passionate about life, learning, family, teaching, coaching and friends.

The passion displayed by the restaurant owners comes from different places. In Iowa, it's love of community and a sense of family history. In Arizona, it's love of family and just trying to provide a better life. And in Chicago, passion is demonstrated by a young restauranteur/chef named Grant Achatz, who my immediate reaction to were words like "pretentious" and "arrogant (and I was wrong). Grant and his business partner run a restaurant called Alinea, a 3 star Michelin winner. Grant and his staff creat Nouvelle Cuisine art by combining science with gastronomy and their dishes are meticulously thought through and constructed. 

A little more than half way through the film, it turns from a fairly typical "three neat places to eat" to a more human drama. Grant tells of being diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer and is told by four different doctors that the only way he has a chance of surviving is to remove his tongue and part of his jawbone. Imagine, you make your living with your taste buds and you're told you'll lose the very thing that enables your passion to come to life. I won't give away the rest of the movie for those who want to watch (two thumbs up here). 

Our foundation is determined to see an ALS/MS Residence built in Maine. It's needed. There's no reason people without family or with family incapable of caring for a patient with neurodegenerative disease should have so few alternatives for living out the time they have in anything but a nurturing environment. We are passionate about getting this done. We need people to join us who are equally passionate. 

It doesn't matter what your talents or gifts may be. If you're passionate about using them to help others, we want to talk to you to explain more about our vision. You don't need to know a lot about healthcare, ALS, MS, or any other neurological disease - we'll share what we know. All we need are people with an unquenchable passion to help others. 

Are you passionate? After all, it's no coincidence the word 'passion' is in 'compassion'. 

Contact us by email at info@hope-jg.org.