uncle kenneth

mom, wendy, leona & myself took a trip to see uncle kenneth. he's dying of ALS (lou gehrig's disease). he was diagnosed in 2008. he is quickly deteriorating. it's crazy because my dad and his brothers are strong--don't need any help from anyone. to see someone so strong get so weak in such a short time is completely heart breaking. my uncle is now walking with a walker and has a hard time speaking. his young wife says he's in so much pain all the time. she gets very little sleep and he cannot help but be frustrated. randy, his son, is always over there making sure he's ok. someone always has to be with him in case he chokes. randy cries a lot because when they were very young their mom left them. uncle kenneth could have put them in an orphanage but chose to raise them. randy says he'll never forget that. kenny, his other son, says he helps as much as he can also. small note about kenny--he's been in rehab for two years for drugs. he's doing so good. i'm proud of him. he has a hard time watching his dad die. robert, another son, doesn't come to see his dad very much. when we were there, robert stayed only a few minutes. he barely looked at his dad. when he left he told his dad "see ya dad--love you". uncle kenneth didn't want us to leave. as we were leaving, his eyes had tears in them. it was hard. i talked to ray about going a couple days during our vacation. please pray that we will have the money and the van is running good. it may be the last time i see him.