YOU ARE NOT ON YOUR OWN JACK!
I live with a rare, very slow moving, form of Motor Neuron Disease (MND). I had been losing some fine motor skills, albeit very slowly, over a period of many years. I was finally diagnosed in 2006.
Although not significantly affected, I had become interested in the condition that I was not aware of prior to diagnosis.
MND has no known cause or cure. After diagnosis average life expectancy is a little over 2 years.
About 18 months after diagnosis I joined a group of fellow MND patients for a life moves course held at Calgary Hospital in Caulfield. There were about 10 participants in this course*.
As you could appreciate the atmosphere in this room was not very positive.
One participant, who was recently diagnosed, was an angry young man. He was particularly distraught at the prospect of being denied the opportunity of seeing his nine year old daughter grow up.
In the first couple of weeks he was emphatic that he had been exposed to few, if any, support opportunities.
Due to the understanding nature of the course facilitators, combined with the exposure to others with similar experiences, this man's attitude changed markedly and he became a significant contributor to the group. In each of the last few weeks he, smilingly, would share the details of an outing he had had with his daughter.
This great feeling was infectious in a very positive way.
As my condition started to have a greater effect I would often reflect on this experience. I went to a participant reunion about 4 years ago. Since then I have completed both the volunteer peer and facilitator's training and was a part of Sunshine & Geelong courses (twice).
I like to think that I have now become part of the BrainLink furniture, I very much look forward to being involved in making someone else feel good because this makes me feel even better!
It is with sadness and regret that we confirm that Crockett Cooke passed away on the 6th of December 2017. We send our best wishes to his family through their sad times and thank Crockett for his amazing work with the LifeMoves program and for being such a fierce ambassador for MND. He will be missed.