My mother, Susan Catlett, taught me you could never underestimate a good story. A good story can pry open eyes, unstop ears, soften hearts, and change lives. A well-chosen illustration can transform a hostile critic into a willing participant. My mother’s story and journey with ALS did this for many. Her disarming smile and simple and honest discussions made people think.
Her passion was to educate and encourage those around her to be the best they could be, despite life’s devastations. She shared her journey with ALS through her blog, Susan’s Steps (no longer live), revealing her most humorous, challenging, beautiful, and frustrating situations.
Welcome to a revised rendition of her writings. Throughout her journey, she wrote almost 200 blog posts. I attempt to add context to her blog posts so that you, whether you have met her or not, can learn more about her life and death. I hope her words and experience will encourage you and draw you to Jesus. From her, I learned the joy of cultivating spiritual complaint.
–Tricia
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Several people/a, few people/okay, maybe a person asked me about my new transportation, my little red “go chair.” That is what you ride when your feet and legs don’t respond to the signals from your brain. Finally, in August 2011, the neurologist told Cliff and me that my feet don’t work because of ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. A few days after the diagnosis, in an email to my boss, I told him I would be a famous baseball player (Lou Gehrig) or write a book (Tuesdays with Morrie). Diagnosis Day was the first day of a new journey which called for new shoes for the foot braces, a walker, a cane, and a scooter to accommodate steps that are a little slower, unsteady, and more insecure than those of previous years.
It has taken me over a year to get to this place, where I could or wanted to write about this journey. This Christmas, my niece asked me how this has affected my faith. It is a little sobering when a doctor tells you the average life span for an ALS patient is 3 to 5 years. It gives a person material for reflection. I have thought about my response to her several times since that night. I told her I had been practicing for it all my life. I am not a hero. I am not wise. I am a traveler, just like everyone else. This just happens to be my journey. The natural question is “Why me?” but with all honesty, my response is “Why not me?” At this point, the Life Coach would ask, “So now what?”
–Susan