Friday, August 29, 2014

The MONSTER has a New Nemesis


Many of the people I've met with ALS often refer to it as The Monster. It's a way of encapsulating what we all know about the dark side of the disease in simple terms. 

The Monster has no shape or form, it looks different on the shoulders of everyone it attacks. The Monster has no voice. It's deathly silent, in spite of the thousands of voices it steals. The Monster comes without warning. It's victims are young and old, rich and poor, athletes and couch potatoes. Sometimes, The Monster devours it's victims in months, sometimes a few years, sometimes it toys with them for decades. 

There have been millions of White Knights over decades, dedicating themselves to finding where The Monster lives, how it moves, why it does what does. These Knights wear lab coats instead of armor. Their weapons are test tubes, beakers and petrie dishes. Whenever one of the Knights shouts to the others "I've found it's tracks!" so far, it's been a dead end.

The Knights have sponsors, mostly the friends and family of The Monster's victims. The sponsors have done much to feed, clothe and arm the Knights. Begging, appealing, selling cupcakes, doing bottle drives and even digging into their own dwindling funds to keep the Knight's quest to find The Monster's lair moving forward.

In the past two months, a Crystal Knight has joined the fray. This Crystal Knight has a heart as cold as ice when it comes to his loathing of The Monster. Yet, this warrior brings joy and comfort to the afflicted and their families. He even has the ability to recruit previously disinterested parties to follow him into battle, sponsoring the White Knights, comforting the afflicted and standing with families.

The Crystal Knight has changed the battlefield forever. The Monster is on the run and spirits of its victims, their families and the Knights are high. People continue heeding the call to arms of the Crystal Knight. 

But this is a cautionary tale. The battle goes on. There will be difficult days and more casualties ahead. The key to winning the battle and sending The Monster to the bowels of hell is the people who have answered the Crystal Knight's call. They MUST stay engaged! Without the level of excitement, compassion and support we've seen in the past two months, the battle will tilt again, in The Monster's favor. Please don't let that happen!

Here are some links to keep your mind, spirit and heart in the battle.


http://www.hope-jg.org/#!get_involved/c8k2

http://www.als.net/ALS-Community/?f=h



THE END

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