Taggart’s Battle – ALS Update

Taggart, my brother, is afflicted with ALS. It’s not a pretty disease. Just months ago Tag was a truck driver, working 60 hours a week driving. Today he is wheelchair bound.  The progress hasn’t slowed yet since they uncovered it.

This week we visited and Tag requires assistance full time. I arrived in time to help him out of bed into his wheelchair. During our visit, his wife had to help him onto the toilet. At the end of the visit, Tag was helped into bed.

It’s not pretty. Tag’s a fighter though.  He’s working to maintain his dignity. At every turn he did what he could by himself.  His one arm is still strong enough to allow him to push the wheel chair himself if the surface allows.

Tag is still making use of his good hand for more than just feeding himself. His current hobby is repairing, upgrading and customizing XBox 360 consoles. He’s got three he’s working on now.  Tag even tackles play testing them with just the one hand.

The mood could be dark but Tag isn’t settling for that.  It’s a bit tougher on everyone else though.  His wife has decided to go to work part time only so to be able to care for him.  Our mother has been his primary caretaker for a while now. It’s a lot of work for her.

Tag spends his waking moments working on the consoles, playing Xbox 360 games, and occasionally getting some sun. The family desperately needs some ramps though. Right now for him to leave the house, someone has to carry him over steps from one wheelchair to another.

We plan on visiting with him as often as possible. It really seems to lift his spirits. Though him and I talked a bunch on this visit, it is getting decidedly more difficult for him to carry on a conversation for more than a few minutes.

He’s opted to accept using a tracheotomy tube for breathing. That should give him several extra months of decent life.  Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any treatment to cure ALS. Only symptoms can be dealt with and those not well.

What do I want? Just your positive energy, prayers, and for you to give all the love you can to those in your life. Forgive any issues between you and the loved one and move on with the rest of your lives.  You won’t have them forever.

Thanks for your continued support.

Cheers,

Todd

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Tags: ALS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Disability, Disease, Games, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Video game, xbox 360