Tuesday, July 15, 2014

My Birthday

On July 9, I turned forty-six. To most people, this is just another birthday. There is nothing special about it. But, as a person with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, every birthday is special. Every birthday that I have is a celebration of life. I am reminded at every birthday how lucky I am to be alive. Every birthday gives me a chance to flip the bird at DMD. I have defied it yet again. Every birthday reminds me to not take life for granted, and to treat every day as if it is my last. When I least expect it, it could all be over. In the face of this uncertainty, I embrace the gift of life.

4 comments:

Jon's Pop said...

Happy 46th Birthday, John. Congratulations on another milestone. Your blog is a reminder for all of us to be grateful for and mindful of every day that we have the chance to live the life we want. Lots of love to you and your family!

Andrea Gapko said...

Happy belated birthday, John. I always look forward to reading your blog. I only hope my son lives as long as you have (He's 10 years behind you!).

We learned that the wife of one of Jacob's college profs died today at age 51 of pancreatic cancer diagnosed on June 4. Any of us could go as quickly, so live everyday as if it is the last day of your life.

Andrea

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday young man.
Craig

Robert Askey said...

Happy birthday John!

Life is indeed fleeting. My wife of nearly 22 years died from Multiple Sclerosis in 2009 after suffering from the condition for almost a quarter of a century.

There is still no cure for the disease and not really much in the way of effective treatment but the research through the M.S. Society continues. The problem with research is that it requires funding.

So that's what I'm doing. I am walking up the entire west coast of Scotland (approximately 500 miles) to raise money for M.S. research in the hope that someone else would have better chances than my wife did.

Please take the time to share my story. Thanks.