Russ Newton
Latest update on my health.

So I hate to tell you all this but I am in the last innings of my life. The last full assessment at my doctors office noted weakness on my left side. Weak arm, weak fingers weak feet and legs. I am dropping my left foot anytime I am out in public now but for some reason not at home. But here are some of the new symptoms. My left hand pointing finger starting moving without any command from me to the brain. ALS is now in control. It went up and left. Freaky. The second thing that reminds me of the last inning is when I try to button my blue jeans, it is getting almost, not quite yet, impossible. And yes, I do try to take a drink of something every once in awhile and I stop breathing and cough for five minutes after I attempt. it. (Five minutes of coughing, one minute of whooping for air) So what am I going to do? Well of course I am going to stop trying to drink anything. Road Trip. Yep, I am going to head to my home in Texas for the month of December. A good friend is going to accompany me on the drive down and the drive back as I may lose the ability to drive before I leave or when I want to come back. So I will have a designated driver with me, Mark Dytayo. Now I am not implying the end is coming up in the next couple of weeks. But I am thinking I may have two or three months left. And I am not afraid of dying at this point. I have a great life, so many unique experiences that I don't feel cheated. And lets say I didn't get ALS. I am at a high risk for Alzheimer's, early onset or late onset. My mom died of early onset at 67. And I am already seeing some minor difficulties with short term memory. Could just be age or could it be a sign? I would love to find out but ALS is a demanding disease and will not relent so I guess I won't find out. So I still hope to keep posting on the blog but I will have a friend write on the blog when I can no longer do so. Russ