Learning from My Father :: Personal Narrative Essays

Learning from My Father My father has a rare autoimmune neuro-muscular disease which is similar to Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). He had been having some muscular problems on and off for several years. He began losing strength in his legs and, to a lesser degree, in his arms. My Dad worked in a hospital intensive care unit and was on the go a lot at work. Suddenly, in October 1995, he had to stop working. After seeing several different doctors in different cities and having what seemed to be a zillion different tests, the auto-immune diagnosis was reached. We knew that Dad had some medical problems but we had always been told that they were not debilitating. When he had to stop working, it was a real jolt to all of us. My Mom told us that Dad had worked since he was fifteen years old. He even worked full time while he was in Bible School in 1986. He was stopped in his tracks by the diagnosis when he had just begun taking courses at Syracuse University. My Dad still keeps going and does as much as he can. Sometimes I think he does too much and sometimes I think he gets stubborn when he is told to slow down or to rest. Even though he is classified as "disabled," he tries to keep that label from complicating his life. He views himself as still being able to do things - just in a manner that might be different from how most people might do the same task. When he had to stop working and then received the auto-immune diagnosis, it was pretty hard to accept. My Dad had always been pretty active and now he had to cope with a condition that will one day overcome him. For the first year or so, my Mom and I slept very little because we were afraid that Dad would stop breathing while he was asleep, and die. Whenever he wanted to do something, I thought that he might need help and I was always right there for him. I have since learned that Dad can still do many things by himself. I don't think that Dad has really learned his limitations yet but Mom and I are there to help him. Dad can't be left alone because he has some problems with his balance at times.