Proposal to help dying vets slow to pass

Proposal to help dying vets slow to pass


by SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News

Posted on November 21, 2011
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. -- Last year at this time Rich Knapton of Lake Stevens was jogging six miles, four times a week. But his running days are over. Now he struggles to make it a few feet down his hallway with the aid of a walker.

"All the things that I love to do I can no longer do. It was just taken from me. All the plans I had were taken from me. (It’s a) tremendous loss; just tremendous loss," said Rich.

In September Rich was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It’s a progressive, untreatable, and fatal disease that destroys the nerve cells that control muscle function. Eventually a patient can't walk, talk or breathe, while the mind stays sharp.

The news was devastating.

"I cried. I cried a lot. Eventually you can't cry. You run out (of tears) and I realized this is how I'm going to die," said Rich. “And it won't affect my mind. I'll be trapped in a body that won't work, but a mind that is still working."
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