Reider
New member
Today I said good bye to my great friend Mike Strouse. He has been my best friend and inspiration since we were kids. ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) finally took him early this morning at the young age of 40. He has left behind a very strong, loving wife and beautiful 1-year old daughter.
Mike's journey with ALS started 6 years ago. I watched this horrible disease slowly take Mike's life away. The only way I can describe it, is being a prisoner in your own body. Your mind is as sharp as ever, but your body slowly breaks down. It progressed from mild speech issues at the beginning to finally being in a motorized wheel chair with a computer to communicate and a trach to breath. His computer would track his eyes so he could type his thoughts and responses.
After watching his daughter walk and begin to talk, he made the decision to stop his trach. He felt it was the best thing for his wife and daughter so they could begin living as normal of a life as possible without him. So hospice came in over the last few weeks and yesterday was the day he went through with it. I cannot begin to imagine ever having to make a decision like that. He said he lived such a full and enriching life, that it is only fitting that he die young. Mike was thankful that he actually had the chance to say good bye to his loved ones unlike most other unfortunate people who have passed.
The key thing here is, never once in his 6 years of battle with ALS did I ever hear Mike complain or look for pity in any way. He was always positive and genuinely interested in how others were doing. The only time I saw him shed a tear was when he and I said our goodbyes a week ago. The same can be said for his wife. Always positive, supportive and by his side never complaining. In a world that many have lost their way, it is hard for me to wrap my brain around how strong they could be during their personal tragedy.
For all of us that get upset, bent out of shape or stressed over life's obstacles at times, please think of Mike. Please stay positive and keep everything in perspective.
This is a link to his Facebook page that he attempted to document some of his journey: Mike Strouse - Life with ALS
Mike's journey with ALS started 6 years ago. I watched this horrible disease slowly take Mike's life away. The only way I can describe it, is being a prisoner in your own body. Your mind is as sharp as ever, but your body slowly breaks down. It progressed from mild speech issues at the beginning to finally being in a motorized wheel chair with a computer to communicate and a trach to breath. His computer would track his eyes so he could type his thoughts and responses.
After watching his daughter walk and begin to talk, he made the decision to stop his trach. He felt it was the best thing for his wife and daughter so they could begin living as normal of a life as possible without him. So hospice came in over the last few weeks and yesterday was the day he went through with it. I cannot begin to imagine ever having to make a decision like that. He said he lived such a full and enriching life, that it is only fitting that he die young. Mike was thankful that he actually had the chance to say good bye to his loved ones unlike most other unfortunate people who have passed.
The key thing here is, never once in his 6 years of battle with ALS did I ever hear Mike complain or look for pity in any way. He was always positive and genuinely interested in how others were doing. The only time I saw him shed a tear was when he and I said our goodbyes a week ago. The same can be said for his wife. Always positive, supportive and by his side never complaining. In a world that many have lost their way, it is hard for me to wrap my brain around how strong they could be during their personal tragedy.
For all of us that get upset, bent out of shape or stressed over life's obstacles at times, please think of Mike. Please stay positive and keep everything in perspective.
This is a link to his Facebook page that he attempted to document some of his journey: Mike Strouse - Life with ALS
