A Vow is a Vow, Part One

"In sickness and in health, I vow never to leave your side."

Johnny and I repeated those words to each other on Sunday afternoon, September 9th, 2007. Enjoying the moment with us were Pastor Joel, my son, Ryan, and his wife, Lisa, my daughter, Shannon, and Lisa's parents. It was a simple, yet wondrous wedding known as a Trinity ceremony. John accepted Shannon, Ryan, and myself as his own. We vowed to always be there for each other. It was a day I will never forget.

I have loved every minute of the last eleven years with Johnny. We have had great times and great trials. In February, 2005, Johnny was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - Lou Gehrig's Disease - and that has been the greatest trial of all.

At first hearing the diagnosis, we were in shock. The day after that we cried, and the third day we were asking ourselves why this was happening. Johnny has always been an optimist and, by the third week, he said, "Hell, I'm 64 years old. This could have happened to me in my 30s or 40s. I've lived a good life and I am NOT going to stop living my life to the fullest!"

Over the next several months and years, he signed up for every trial and study in our area for ALS victims. It first attacked his upper body; his shoulder muscles and arms. In the first year and a half after the diagnosis it progressed slowly, but Johnny weakened dramatically in 2007. Since he has been in home care nearly all of this year, he has remained stable.

For Christmas, 2006, we planned a family reunion for Johnny and the Miller family in Hilton Head, SC. There Johnny found out that his family was proposing he move from Fort Lauderdale to Fernandina Beach, Florida into a nursing home. Johnny's response was clear, "No way am I leaving my home!" From then, we began to seriously discuss marriage and our future.

From February to April, 2007, Johnny was part of a hyperbaric oxygen treatment research study in Miami. We found out in June that his deterioration from ALS had accelerated; the experiment did nothing for him. By this time, Johnny was not able to swallow his food, the muscles of his tongue and throat having succumbed to the disease. Johnny dropped from his normal weight of 160 - 170 pounds to 114 pounds, so he ordered a feeding peg in June. He also signed up to receive an LTV900 ventilator, as his breathing had become terribly labored; the muscles around his lungs were losing their strength.

Johnny gained back all of his weight by November of last year thanks to the feeding peg, returning to his pre-ALS weight of 160 - 170 pounds. He was happy that at least one aspect of his ALS had been turned back.

To be concluded in Part 2...