The Healing Journey

November 12, 2023

Nick’s best friend Don would travel once a year to a conference in northern New Hampshire at the Balsams resort. He looked forward to it and loved taking family members there to hike, play golf and look for moose sightings along the country roads. It was a long drive to get there, close to six hours, but it was worth it to be far from the madding crowd. Throughout those years, his dream was to buy a small place in the mountains where he and his wife could go in retirement. It just seemed like a different life, peaceful and serene and affordable where people were friendly. But sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of your dreams.

After several years of going from doctor to doctor and specialist to specialist to figure out why he kept falling, Don finally got a diagnosis. He had ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. Four years later, Don died at 65, and his obituary said he died “at his home surrounded by his loving family. Don never gave up hope throughout his long and courageous battle.”

Nick gave the eulogy at his funeral and mentioned Don’s love of New Hampshire. In the weeks and months that followed, he thought again and again of his friend and his dream. Today he has a home in the mountains, he looks for moose on the backroads, he makes small talk at the country store, he savors the serenity and he still recalls his friend. You could say that Nick stole his best friend’s dream and lived it for both of them.

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