Cape Breton's Magazine

the way I was walking or limping. "No," I said, "my back is just killing me, you know. I can hardly walk." So, same thing home. The next day I went back, and I got a slip. And I haven't worked since. And that's--well, that would be--that was three years out in May. So then I took quite awhile. They were go? ing to operate on my back, and I said, "No." They wanted to operate here in Syd? ney. I said, "No, I'll go away to Hali? fax," you know. Pretty sensitive part, to start cutting into your back. So I went away up there. They were going to do the same. But, oh, day before the operation-- the doctor that I had up there, he brought in a couple of other doctors, and they ex? amined me. Said, "Gee, we're not going to operate on him." They cancelled the opera? tion. Neurologists, you know. The nerve doctor. So anyway, it ended up, about 6 or 7 months later, after I spent--the last time in the V.G. they kept me in for over 3 weeks. They finally found it. I was be? ing examined by 10 doctors a day. And the EST. 1906 Medical Hall • COMPUTERIZED PRESCRIPTION SERVICE • FILMS • SUNTAN LOTIONS • FIRST AID SUPPLIES 66 Commercial St. 1 Commercial StJ DOMINION 849-0200 GLACE BAY 849-6552 (it busy) 849-1030 PHARMASAVE The One Name You Need to Know: RAHEY'S VISIT IN SYDNEY MINES: J. R. RAHEY'S JEWELLERY STORE 158 Main Street • 736-6150 • and. • .for Comfortable Home Furnishings • Reliable Appliances • and the Latest in Electronic Technology J. R. Rahey's Furniture Stores 1095 King's Road Main Street Sydney River ' Sydney Mines 562-2500 W 736-9442 We*ve Built the Name People Trust! tests I went through. They finally found it. ALS (Ameotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which is Lou Gehrig's Disease, you know. So, I remember that day, the doctor came in, the neurosurgeon--the head guy that was looking after me. And he was sitting up on the bed. I was walking with a cane. And he said, "Gordie," he said, "I've got good news and bad news for you. I want to give you the good news first. You're going home tomorrow." "Oh," I said to myself, "gee, here I am going home. I still don't know what the hell's wrong with me," you know. He said, "You've got ALS." All I can say is ALS--I can't pronounce the words. "It's Lou Gehrig's Disease." He said, "Do you understand that?" I said, "Oh, yes." 'Cause I read about Lou Gehrig the ball? player, died of it. "So," he said, "it's a terminal disease, Gordie. It's a disease of the nerve endings in your body. Which, as they die, they kill the muscles in your body. And it's the only disease of this kind. Like, MS and all them are diseases of the muscle. Yours is the only one that's terminal. The others may last 10 or 20 years. But you have a life? span of only 3 to 5 years to live. There's no cure for it, there's no medication. There's nothing." He said, "I want you to go home and make out your will." And he said, "Get your insurance and pensions in place, and that's it." He sat back. And--which may be only about 30 seconds-- he said, "Gee, Gordie," he said, "I'm sur? prised at your reaction, you know." 'Cause usually people fall off the bed, you know, or deep panic. You know, you get a death sentence, you know what I mean. So I said, "No," I said, "because when I came back in February from seeing you, I said to the wife, I said, 'There's more wrong to me than a disc in my back,' I said. 'I think'--I was doing a little reading, you know. I said, 'I think I've got Parkin? son's Disease.'" "Well." he said, "you weren't far off. It's a cousin, you know. But yours is the only one that's fatal." So here I am, I'm home. So. all in all, a year before I was diagnosed, I had it-- like I said, when I was in the Arctic. So 100 RADON GfiS SCfiRE! Don't panic! l/lany things can be done, or may not have to be done. Yes, you can do the test yourself. Yes, we can set up a test kit for you. Yes, we do recommendations. 'l5UdH0ME iMPROVEMENTS Covering Cape Breton and Eastern Nova Scotia COMPLETE TESTING & SEALING SPECIALISTS • Air Leakage Testing • Humidity Testing • Thenno Flow Infra Red Testing ?Vinyl & Aluminum Siding • Aluminum Storms • Roofing • Air to Air Exchanges • Blown Insulation • Interior Storms • BBB member, CIA member AIR TESTING & CONSULTING FOR: • Uncontrolled Air Leaks • Moisture & Humidity Problems • Heat Cost Reductions • Testing of New Tight Homes and Older Drafty Homes P. O. BOX 281 DOMiNiON, N. S. B0A1E0 ABLE 849-7000 HOME IMPROVEMENTS LTD. ENERGY SAVING CONSULTANTS '