#3 My ALS Journey—Closet Pole Dresser

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My mother was a life coach before it was a formal certification. She encouraged people to be brave and do the hard thing while having lots of fun doing it. If she succeeded or failed, it didn’t matter. Both made for a good story.

One thing I so appreciated about my mom during her season of ALS was how much she wanted to feel pulled together while in her crisis.  There is no cure for the disease. The best you can do is exchange your energy, doing one thing in exchange for another. She wanted to get dressed. She wanted to go out to visit friends, hold a baby, eat at her favorite restaurant, or write her blog. And she loved to laugh. She got the biggest kick out of writing these posts and sharing them with you.

–Tricia

A couple of months ago, my husband and a good family friend put a pole in my closet, unfortunately not to fulfill my secret desire to be a closet pole dancer. The purpose of the pole and a strategically placed chair is to give me the support I need to get dressed in the mornings without falling over. Since my legs don’t work very well without my braces (see Susan’s Steps #2), it is very difficult to get dressed. I never realized before how much we depend on each of our toes, feet, ankles, and legs to do such a simple task as getting dressed. I sit in the chair to put on all my clothes, pull myself up using the pole, hold on for dear life with one hand, and with the other hand, pull everything up and try to adjust all the clothing to make sure I am altogether before I leave the closet. Some people would say they are still waiting for me to pull myself together, even with the pole. What do you have in your life to help you pull yourself together?

–Susan

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