Oh brother!

I had the opportunity to talk to my brother John yesterday and I actually understood most of what he was trying to communicate to me.  You see, John was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 18 years ago.  Over the span of the last five years he has quickly deteriorated.  At the age of 41 he is unable to drive, write, walk, and now talk.  His speech is minimal as he is suffering from vocal cord paralysis/weakness –one of the more drastic effects of MS.  He tries to communicate the best that he can but it’s frustrating not being able to understand him –I can only imagine how incarcerating it is for him to function at full capacity in the brain and not be able to convey the majority of his thoughts.  Needless to say, we rarely get on the phone to chit chat but yesterday was a great day for John.  His cords were strong and we managed to exchange a few words.  He first wished me a happy belated birthday.  He asked me how old I was and when I replied 35 he gasped and said I was old.  The best part was when I told him that I was sorry that his Dallas Cowboys weren’t playing in the big game.  He sighed and said “I’m sad”.  I replied with, “well, they could have played in the Super Bowl but they suck!”  He let out a huge laugh.  That alone made my day.  Love you John Boy!  The picture was sent to me yesterday evening by my other brother.  He and John watched the Super Bowl together.  ::huge smile::