She was a phenomenal mom.  I always told her that she is the reason why I have become who I have become, why I am where I am today.  She always supported me without pushing me.  She always told me "just do my best" but she never applied any pressure for me to be better.  I think the reason I have always strived to be better is because she was such a hard act to follow.

She was one of my closest friends also.  We talked about everything, laughed a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed each others' company.  When I married, she continued to be an integral part of our family.  When my son came along, she influenced him with the same sense of caring, compassion and morality that she had in raising me years ago.  

My mother passed away on October 26th, 2007, never knowing what afflicted her.  I received the presumptive diagnosis from her neurologist in July, just months before her death.  By this time, she had limited mobility, was wheelchair bound, and was daily growing more dependent on us, her caregivers.  I decided not to tell her of the presumptive diagnosis as I did not want her time spent worrying about what was to come, but instead enjoying her family, and most of all, her grandson.  My son was 5 when ALS took my mother and one of my biggest regrets is that she will no longer be with us to gently influence him as she had for the first 5 years of his life.  That will be a great loss for all of us.

Please choose to give so that continued research gives hope to other families that their loved ones will be around to pass on their strength, integrity, and life lessons to younger generations.

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