ENDLESS HOPE

The painting I chose for this blog is an original piece I created, titled A Mother's Love. I selected this work because no one on this planet embodies hope more profoundly than a loving mother. Their unwavering hope mirrors the strength and determination that so many of us seek. In this post, we embark on a journey to rediscover hope. I hope you enjoy it!

Endless Hope

Living with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) often feels like fighting an uphill battle against a disease that has lingered for nearly two centuries. Yes, two hundred years—and doctors still have no cure. For most, receiving an ALS diagnosis is unlike anything else. It's a living hell. When the dreaded news arrives, many doctors will coldly send you home to die.

From the very beginning, the hope within you feels extinguished by the indifferent tone of a cold-hearted neurologist. The office visits often start with kindness and concern, but by the time you get your EMG test, everything shifts. Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde. They send you home with no options, no encouragement—just the crushing weight of reality.

Unlike cancer, where patients hear hopeful words and are presented with treatments, ALS offers no such solace. This isn’t a nightmare. It’s a daymare—a waking torment where hope is often stamped out. Many PALS (people with ALS) return home lost and confused, and they eventually succumb to the disease, just as their doctors predicted.

But there are exceptions. A small group of PALS, through sheer determination, manage to rediscover hope. And what if I told you that hope—yes, hope—is powerful enough to defy the odds? I am living proof.

I’ve lived with ALS for ten years—better yet, FALS, as it runs in my family. A decade with a disease that should have taken me out years ago. I’ve always been a positive person, though I’m no stranger to hard days or depression. I’m human, after all. As a Christian, my faith gives me strength, but even if you don’t believe in God, I encourage you to find something to hold onto. Faith, no matter where it comes from, can be the foundation of hope.

Hope is the headlock that keeps me holding on. Without it, life becomes a fleeting shadow. Sadly, I’ve seen too many PALS get trapped in depression—unable to see beyond their pain—and they fade away. Depression or MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) claims lives when no cure is available.

Yet, I am not alone in beating the odds. I know PALS who have lived far beyond the “expiration date” imposed by their doctors. One has lived for 17 years, another for 13, and one has even beaten ALS entirely.

Here’s my advice to every PALS out there: grab life in a headlock and hold on tight. Find hope, wherever it lies, and don’t let go. Marry hope. It’s powerful beyond measure, offering everything and asking for nothing. Hope is life, and life is hope. Hope is beautiful. Hope is endless. I like to end everything I do with this: Not Today ALS!

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓢𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓫𝓮