Coming to terms with ALS
Living with ALS, Doug Russell
I was born and brought up in Steveston, a small fishing village at the mouth of the Fraser River. I married my high school sweetheart, ( Dyann), and have two wonderful daughters, and two grandchildren. Both my wife and I were very active, and played many sports throughout our childhood, but slowly migrated to golf and skiing as we entered adulthood.
I was originally trained as an electronics technician, and in 1970 started work in the nuclear physics department, at UBC. After around 2 1/ 2 years, I realized that I wanted a career that was more physical, outdoors, and exciting. In 1973, I joined the Richmond Fire Department. For 31 years, I made a lot of friends, received a lot of job satisfaction, and had a lot of fun.
In 1980, my dad, myself, and a very good friend of mine, built our dream house in Steveston, on a piece of my granddads old dairy farm. It was a perfect spot to raise our family. I have many fond memories of our time spent there. In 2001, after our girls had moved out and started their own careers, we downsized, and moved to Ladner, to be closer to our golf club in Beach Grove. Fortunately, we started doing a lot of travelling before we retired, so I don’t have a huge bucket list.
In 2010, after coming home from a trip in the Middle East, I noticed a marked difference in strength between my right and left arm. Shortly thereafter, the tips of my right hand started to tingle and go numb. One and a half years later, and many diagnostics later, I was diagnosed with atypical ALS. Atypical, because, besides the muscle loss, I also have this numbness on the right side of my body. Our family was devastated, but quickly to take what time is given.
The ALS clinic at GF Strong, and the ALS Society of BC, has been a great support for both my family and myself. Many friends have come forward with support, and offers of help. Right now, I am still mobile, and still have the partial use of my left hand, but I know I will be taking them upon their offers. The loss of more and more of one’s body, ( and one’s dignity), is something I see coming down the track. So far, the losses have been slow and incremental, and so you learn to deal.
My wife Dyann, is a critical care nurse, but now works in the community. She has had patients with ALS, and so has seen all the stages. Her knowlege and experience has been invaluable. Our family is looking forward to going on a vacation together to Maui in the fall. After that, we’ll see. My sense of things is, you do what you can do today, and when the situation changes, adjust.