Prevailing with Poetry

Lou Gehrigs or ALS affects about 6000 people a year and former highschool teacher Glenn Nichols is closing in on his 2nd year with the incurable disease. I interviewed the 57 year old a few days ago for one of several medical pieces submitted for Realhealth.tv. Glenn still gets around with a wheelchair, the help of an aid and his wife but he's losing muscle fast in his arms, legs, hands and feet. Eventually, he will die when his breathing muscles begin to weaken and his diaphram closes down. The timing is unpredictable but in most cases death will come peacefully, hopefully while asleep. But Glenn doesn't worry so much about his last day, he's too busy reading, writing and packing his brain with more poetry. He was an English teacher for 30 years and can recite D.H. Lawrence, Walt Whitman and Robert Frost as if he's still reading to his students. He has a whole new appreciation for words and the signifigance behind them. A favorite that he draws strength from includes the following:

"Self Pity" by D.H. Lawrence

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.