From his Facebook page.
A tough day.
These are troubling, difficult times, and things seem to keep piling on. I had a gig in April where I lost control of my flatpick and couldn't hold on to it. I had also been losing weight. My GP thought maybe I had carpal tunnel, so he sent me to a neurologist. She did a bunch of testing, and I was shocked to be told in May that she thought it was ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's Disease). I asked her for a second opinion and she sent me to another neurologist in San Antonio, who confirmed her diagnosis.
The version that I've been diagnosed with can sometimes take longer than regular ALS to run its course, but also sometimes it doesn't. Conventional wisdom says ALS lasts between two and five years. It always involves nerves and muscles becoming paralyzed, along with the loss of ability to swallow, talk, and breathe, though your brain keeps functioning. And always ends in death. There isn't a cure, and they don't know why you get it. There are a couple of drugs which can extend the decline by a few months. I'm on both of them. Right now I'm still mobile, and have determined that, for the moment, I can play with fingerpicks instead of a flatpick. My aim is to keep playing shows and making music in my studio as long as I can.
Getting information regarding how this might play out, and for how long, is very difficult. All I've gotten is that it's different for everyone, and there's no way to predict how things might go or how long I might have.
My wife Kathy has been a saint through all this. I know things are only going to get harder for her as well. I hope I can manage to give her the personal time and space that she needs to stay healthy. I also have an amazing family - two children, six siblings, lots of nieces and nephews and in-laws, and two amazing parents. And we are blessed with so many loving, caring friends. I know I will be well-tended, though I wish I didn't have to be.
I'm putting this out here now just because the news is starting to sneak out, and I want to be the one to tell the story. I also don't want this to be what my life is all about from now on. I don't know what's going to happen, and there's a lot that needs arranging. I apologize for the dark tone of this, I'm still confronting the news. We'll see how things go from here. For now at least, I hope to see you out and about.
Editorial comment.... It's a lonely feeling, like it or not
A tough day.
These are troubling, difficult times, and things seem to keep piling on. I had a gig in April where I lost control of my flatpick and couldn't hold on to it. I had also been losing weight. My GP thought maybe I had carpal tunnel, so he sent me to a neurologist. She did a bunch of testing, and I was shocked to be told in May that she thought it was ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's Disease). I asked her for a second opinion and she sent me to another neurologist in San Antonio, who confirmed her diagnosis.
The version that I've been diagnosed with can sometimes take longer than regular ALS to run its course, but also sometimes it doesn't. Conventional wisdom says ALS lasts between two and five years. It always involves nerves and muscles becoming paralyzed, along with the loss of ability to swallow, talk, and breathe, though your brain keeps functioning. And always ends in death. There isn't a cure, and they don't know why you get it. There are a couple of drugs which can extend the decline by a few months. I'm on both of them. Right now I'm still mobile, and have determined that, for the moment, I can play with fingerpicks instead of a flatpick. My aim is to keep playing shows and making music in my studio as long as I can.
Getting information regarding how this might play out, and for how long, is very difficult. All I've gotten is that it's different for everyone, and there's no way to predict how things might go or how long I might have.
My wife Kathy has been a saint through all this. I know things are only going to get harder for her as well. I hope I can manage to give her the personal time and space that she needs to stay healthy. I also have an amazing family - two children, six siblings, lots of nieces and nephews and in-laws, and two amazing parents. And we are blessed with so many loving, caring friends. I know I will be well-tended, though I wish I didn't have to be.
I'm putting this out here now just because the news is starting to sneak out, and I want to be the one to tell the story. I also don't want this to be what my life is all about from now on. I don't know what's going to happen, and there's a lot that needs arranging. I apologize for the dark tone of this, I'm still confronting the news. We'll see how things go from here. For now at least, I hope to see you out and about.
Editorial comment.... It's a lonely feeling, like it or not
