Ron was my first born. He had brown hair and blue eyes, just like me. He was bubbly and adorable. He was the joy of my life!

He was all I thought about for the entire nine months of my pregnancy. And when he arrived; ten little fingers, ten little toes and no outward signs of anything abnormal. Actually, he was beautiful.

From birth to the age of 27, life was as normal for Ron as any other person. As a young child, he rode a big wheel, participated in scouts, served as an altar boy during church services, played in sports, and he was an excellent student. There wasn't anything in the world that held him down.

Soon after his graduation from high school, Ron began to develop his career in architecture and developed his own business in home design and construction. He met a wonderful young lady, was married and gave me two beautiful granddaughters.

What I am about to tell you has broke my heart. In the spring of 1994, Ron began to experience uncontrollable tremors and twitching in his left arm. After many doctor visits and special tests, including an MRI, all tests appeared to be normal. The doctors attributed his discomforts resulted from an injury or a pinched nerve. But through the persistence of one of his physicians, he was referred to a group of physicians specializing in neurology for further study.

After many testing procedures, we were told that Ron had been stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and that his life expectancy was now only two to four years. We were also told that there was nothing we could do. There was no cure!

Since that time we watched Ron's body steadily shrink away, but watched his attitude and spirit grow. For twelve years, he remained the beautiful son that we always loved so dearly, and continued to bless and be thankful for everday that we still had more time to share with him. Ron passed away in August 2005, and my tears still fall.

You can't imagine what it's like to watch your child's body degenerate, but you also can't imagine our faith through it all. Yes, we kept hoping that God could touch and Ron's body would be whole and healthy again, and I would be spared the grief of losing my son. He knows how deep my hurt will be and the years I will grieve.

I am so thankful to be Ron's mom. His life has enriched mine, and I would go through this all over again and cherish every moment.

JamMarie Creations ~ 2007