spare a thought

[Former member 49149]

We who can walk... we who have walked... and we who will walk: here is a story with a title that connects it to the Camino. Read it at your leisure. And spare a thought for those who cannot walk, but would give their eye teeth so to do...



The best I could do, from a piece in a magazine we subscribe to. I took photos of each piece.

 

[VNwalking]

May this padre be deeply blessed. What a beautiful story, thank you @kirkie .
We take so much for granted, in these 'normal' functioning bodies...forgetting completely that it is equally normal for them to fall apart.
And ours will someday.
So let's walk while we can! And when we can no longer do that...we'll have to figure out how to graciously let go and cherish the memories.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

May the Lord make His face to shine upon him.

 

[Annette london]

We who can walk... we who have walked... and we who will walk: here is a story with a title that connects it to the Camino. Read it at your leisure. And spare a thought for those who cannot walk, but would give their eye teeth so to do...

View attachment 49829View attachment 49830View attachment 49831

The best I could do, from a piece in a magazine we subscribe to. I took photos of each piece.

Thank you Kirkie
What a story
What a man

MND ...for me has got to be one of the most distressing diseases that I have ever encountered
On time, I happened to be on the evening shift on the District Nursing Service in London

A man,...with MND .. About 40 was on our list for that evening
I got the shock of my life when I saw him....he was the spitting image of my husband ....but although fully aware of everything around him......he could only move his eyes ...only his eyes!
Can anyone of us know how this must feel ..or how his wife and family must feel?

After tending to his needs, we left, to continue our rounds
I'm afraid my companion had to drive the car for me as I could not get his face.....my husbands face out of my mind..

Returning home I had a good cry and even now, a good few years later, I can still remember every detail of that visit

So fair play to to this man and all the volunteers involved in this journey
Those of us who can still walk should feel so lucky and blessed

Think I'll go and give my old boy a hug!
Best wishes
Annette

 

[Camino Chrissy]

What a sad, but lovely story.
I saw the documentary movie "I'll Push You" about two friends on the camino. One was losing his abilities to move and hisfriend pushed him in a customized wheelchair.... I'm wondering if this man and the priest both possibly have the same disease.

 

[Icacos]

Not to diminish in any way from what this dear man is going through but, some years ago I read a book, set in South Africa and presumably by an South African author, written from the viewpoint of a woman who was in the final stages of what I think must have been this disease. She could communicate with her care giver - her long time maid - only through her eyes; by blinking them, I think. The book covers the woman's life and her complicated relationship with the maid/care giver. I recall that the title of the book was the name of the maid. It was an incredibly moving book. I wonder if anyone recalls it.

 

[NualaOC]

Thanks for sharing this, @kirkie. What an inspiring story.

Very timely for me as I'm re-reading The Great Westward Walk at the moment The horror of MND (ALS) is unimaginable. A good reminder to walk while we can; the future may not be what we expect it to be.

For anyone who hasn't read The Great Westward Walk, here's one of the many forum threads on the subject. It's a great read and when you buy the book, you help to support the author's family. Available from Ivar (in the first link above) or from Amazon.

 

[Paladina]

A man,...with MND .. About 40 was on our list for that evening
I got the shock of my life when I saw him....he was the spitting image of my husband ....but although fully aware of everything around him......he could only move his eyes ...only his eyes!
Can anyone of us know how this must feel ..or how his wife and family must feel?

If you want to know how both the MND sufferer and partner must feel, I suggest you read I Found My Tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice, the wife of the the Irish film director Simon Fitzmaurice, whose own account of living with the disease, It’s Not Yet Dark, was published in 2014. Sadly, Simon died last year, in his early forties.

 

[tpmchugh]

May this padre be deeply blessed. What a beautiful story, thank you @kirkie .
We take so much for granted, in these 'normal' functioning bodies...forgetting completely that it is equally normal for them to fall apart.
And ours will someday.
So let's walk while we can! And when we can no longer do that...we'll have to figure out how to graciously let go and cherish the memories.

Indeed, lets walk while we can. Although not on the same scale as this brave priest, I know what it is like to lose the use of my legs. As a young man of 21 I was struck down with Guillan Barré disease. Over 70% of my body slowly but surely became paralysed. I prayed and believed that I would be cured. Three months later I hobbled out of hospital and then forgot to pray, forgot to give thanks for my recovery and got on with my life. Before my first camino, a lady on this forum told me how she was paralysed recovered the ability to walk and went on the camino to give thanks. It may have been some 40 years late but I gave thanks with every step I took and still, even walking around Tesco, I look down at one foot going in front of the other and thank God for the gift of walking. My heart goes out to this priest as he knows he will never regain his ability and has accepted his fate. I know other religions will not understand this but I bet he offers up every moment of suffering for the souls in purgatory. It is hard to imagine what it feels like to have two useless limbs hanging from your body but it is scary and enough to drive you to distraction. I now have diabetes and one dread is losing my legs. Be thankful for what you have and keep on walking. It is a great gift

 

[Ekelund]

Kirkie, I wish I could give you a 1000 likes for sharing this story. It reminds me how thankful I should be that I am in good health and I can do, what I set my mind to. Thank you.

 

[Former member 49149]

Kirkie, I wish I could give you a 1000 likes for sharing this story. It reminds me how thankful I should be that I am in good health and I can do, what I set my mind to. Thank you.

You just did!

 

[Pilgrim Patricia]

I hiked up Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2005 to thank God for my health and the financial ability to go on such a trip to celebrate my 50th birthday. In the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 I walked most of the Via de la Plata, and volunteered as a hospitalera at Miraz in 2011. Then in 2013 I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs). It is progressive and fatal. (Mine is auto-immune, so not from any environmental or lifestyle source.) When people say to me, "Oh, I'd love to hike up Kilimanjaro/go on the Camino, etc." I suggest they ask themselves what is holding them back from doing so. I have no regrets for what I did when my lungs were in better shape. I also don't wonder "why me?"; rather, "why not me?" about getting PF. For me, my PF is a blessing in disguise with lots of silver linings. Perhaps that's how this brave priest feels about his disease, too.

God bless him and those accompanying him on his physical and spiritual journey.

 

[Former member 49149]

I hiked up Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2005 to thank God for my health and the financial ability to go on such a trip to celebrate my 50th birthday. In the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 I walked most of the Via de la Plata, and volunteered as a hospitalera at Miraz in 2011. Then in 2013 I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs). It is progressive and fatal. (Mine is auto-immune, so not from any environmental or lifestyle source.) When people say to me, "Oh, I'd love to hike up Kilimanjaro/go on the Camino, etc." I suggest they ask themselves what is holding them back from doing so. I have no regrets for what I did when my lungs were in better shape. I also don't wonder "why me?"; rather, "why not me?" about getting PF. For me, my PF is a blessing in disguise with lots of silver linings. Perhaps that's how this brave priest feels about his disease, too.

God bless him and those accompanying him on his physical and spiritual journey.

Patricia ( a special name - my mother's!), thank you for your words. They speak of your strength. That can only help those who might need to see what you are doing with your reality. It helps me. To try to just be present and be thankful, instead of all over the place and complaining.