The Opening Act

About a year and half ago I was training for the New York Marathon to be run in November 2014; I couldn’t understand it the more I worked out, the more I ran the more it seemed my physical fitness was going backward. I tried taking some time off, doing cross training and it never got better. Then I started going to the doctors, I kept getting physically weaker, loosing weight, having speech issues, swallowing issues and soon they put a feeding tube in. They thought maybe the radiation from the cancer treatment I had was the issue. More Doctors, more test, funny looks from the doctors. They would say, this kinds looks like not really finishing the thought with nothing more than but you don’t really have all the symptoms. They ran more test and then I was sent to doctors at UCI for them to have a look at me.

I was assigned Dr. Cash she told me Michael I know you have been to a lot of doctors and have had a lot of test. She said Michael I want you to know I am not sending you any place else; I will figure this out and I will do what I can to help you.

It wasn’t long and we had the follow up appointment after even more test. Dr. Cash came in sit down and said it, out loud, Michael you have ALS. There is no hope in those words.

What do you do? When you’re not given any hope? It doesn’t really matter what someone else has done, what are you going to do? Therein lies the million-dollar question. Was I going to make the best of the time I have or choose to be a victim? No one would blame me; it would be easy to just say, “I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) you know Lou Gehrig’s disease. Everyone could feel sorry for me and I could be the head cheerleader in the pity party.

Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. Really? I am feeling sorry for myself? I have a granddaughter fighting for everything, every minute of every day and I feel sorry for myself. 

Most of the time you don’t have to look very far for inspiration, for a reason to just do the best you can, sometimes it is right in front of you. My wife, my kids, my family, everyone deserves the best from me and I deserve the best. Sometimes putting something in writing, telling those you love about your struggles makes it real. It is not a secret that you can hide from. 

This is my promise to me, my family and my friends, I will not give up, I will not quit, I have said that mantra many times over many miles in my life, I slowed down, I walked but I never quit and this is no different.  

Last night Patty and held each other and just cried, I held on as tight as I could. 

So what happens now? For now just getting into the medical system at UCI, and getting setup on the things that will keep me as healthy as possible, machines that will help me breath at night, one of those scooter’s that will help me save my energy. Trying to gain weight and just having as positive of an attitude as possible. We don’t have time frames, today I am walking, talking breathing on my own; we have no idea when things will change. I do know they will do things to help slow things down like start me using a BiPAP. The BiPAP will help me breath at night you can Google it if you want more information.


I really don’t know what this blog will end of being if nothing more that the story of what happens to me. I hope not to bore you with all the medical things, but keep to the emotional and human part of this.
Having had cancer, when I first found out about this I thought I can't believe it's happening again. I am not sure what happens next; how fast or slow. Will it be a short or a long story? No one really knows. My hope is this story will show that I lived my life as best as I could that I was not a victim; It will show that I did not live in pity.

I do have one question. Seriously I have something named after a New York Yankee! How in the hell did that happen?

When I had Cancer and I wrote my blog I always ended it with today I choose to “Fight On”, I don't know the ending to this story, but for now I choose to “Fight On”

Michael PendletonMay 14, 2015