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I got a call yesterday form an ole friend in Florida. He was a training consultant for the company I worked for down in Clearwater. Anytime you needed to talk he was there with an open mind and always seemed to help. He was the salt of the earth type of guy.Four mths ago he was diagnosed with Lou Gericks .It has become a very advanced form of the disease.There is no cure. He has lost all muscle functions and is not in any pain. He says he is basically just wasting away. I talked to him yesterday(speech is starting to blurr) and he informed me of his plan to go to Oregon for assisted suicide. He does not want to bring his family down thru all of this and wants to get on with the next phase of his life. He said if he is reincarnated he hopes he comes back as a birddog or a retriever with an owner who was a true sportsman. They have discussed it and are finally at peace with the decission.I don't condone suicide but i do see his point. If he and his family are at peace with the decission then so be it. I have the utmost respect for this man for he has helped me in business and personal problems when know one else would listen. I consider him one of my best friends in the world. James Kirkley you will be missed and if you came back as a retriever or birddog I want to be your owner.!! So long friend.

As tears fill my eyes my friend......I will pray for him

He and his family will be in my prayers.

i hope that his family knows we are praying.

Prayers sent to him and his family...

Prayers sent.

Prayers sent

Prayers on the way from SW TN! I hope that he and his familly make the right decision. Unbelievably tough situation all the way around. I hope that you can be there for your friend as he has been there for you in the past!

I spoke to him again for a couple of hours today.He has made a sound decission.They have been to numerous specialist and they have all said the same thing. All he can do is wait till he dies and they are saying with the rate that he is going it is gona get alot worse. He can't get on or off the toilet ,can't feed himself, etc... He can talk by speaker phone so at least i will be able to comunicate with him untill he is gone.It has been a tuff time with this decission over the last mth or so.He and his family are at peace with the decission.So i am at peace with it too.It is a sad thing for this to happen to a man of his wisdom.He is going to Oregon Wed to meet with the top specialist in the country for one last opinion. He will then make is final decission. I and only hope and pray that they tell him something different.

Prayers on the way

Remind him that the Good Lord created all doctors and prayer does work.

I will be praying for him and his family

Sorry. I can't sit idly by on this one. With all due respect, there is no reincarnation. This man doesn't need physician assisited suicide, he needs the Great Physicians's salvation.

Intercession of a different kind offered.

cajun squealer wrote:Sorry. I can't sit idly by on this one. With all due respect, there is no reincarnation. This man doesn't need physician assisited suicide, he needs the Great Physicians's salvation.

Intercession of a different kind offered.

CJ, you beat me to it. I'm praying with you.

Sorry for your friend's fading health...Hopefully they are all at peace with it and will find some kind of comfort in that. A guy we went to school with around the Southaven area (I went to Horn Lake, but knew him from Southaven) has the same thing...Lou Gherig's disease. (or so I was told)

Off the subject, but kinda on the subject....is assisted suicide legal in Oregon??? must be...but with all the hype that WAS with Dr. Kavorkian (SP??) I haven't heard anything of late regarding this matter.