Don, your reply is eloquent and passionate, not to mention brave. It is
very easy to fall into despair as a quad, especially as we grow older and
see friends and family members pass away and others become disabled or
crippled with pain. Those of us who were injured in our teens were likely
cared for by parents. Now those parents are themselves disabled or passed
away. Those of us blessed to find a mate have someone to love and lean on.
Sadly, many of us do not, and we lose hope and purpose at this point
especially if we have been a quad for 40+ years. My mother and wife both
have physical problems that make me weep. My wife, Melissa, has heart and
blood pressure problems plus edema and recurring pleurisy that hangs over
our heads like a dark cloud. I am causing pain and physical damage to her
as she rolls and tugs me around. She can barely walk for the back pain. My
mom is nearly 81. She still gets around, but I can see a difference in her
nearly every day. And all I can do for both is be an added burden. I know
life is precious, and I have been blessed with two beautiful kids and a
31-year job as a teacher. But at age 62, things just seem to be all
downhill. Would Dr.Pausch have struggled for each new day if he knew the
suffering would continually worsen and there was no end in sight? What if
he faced another 30 years of suffering day-after-day the pain and misery of
pancreatic cancer? I have no answer to the meaning of life much less an
answer to suffering. I love my wife and family and treasure my time with
them. Sometimes I just become overwhelmed with the endless problems of
quadom. Then I have to blow steam or explode. Thanks to all my quad buds
for letting me blow some steam. Love and blessings to all of you. Larry
