Hey Michael!

Welcome to the porch!  I can't think of a finer bunch to spend the
time with and discuss the skills and art of woodworking.  My sister
has had a long battle with MS, but she perseveres and is living a
fulfilling life.  Don't give up.

Regards,

Dwight

On 6/8/06, Michael Rogen  wrote:
> Hi. First of all I am 47 years old and was born and raised in Brooklyn, New
> York. I have a wife - oh I mean SWMBO, whose name is Marcy. We have been
> married for ten years. And then there is my 8 year old son Zeke, who has
> been the main reason that I am able to write this bio today. It was the
> thought of not seeing him grow up that made me realize what is really
> important to me. Even at 8 he encourages me to keep trying to do things
> when I want to quit. I never thought that I would be around long enough to
> bother with a bio. I thought that I wouldn't have to write one of these
> things because I was told that I probably wouldn't be alive or would have
> difficulty doing things from a wheelchair! I'll make this short. About two
> years ago I was diagnosed with ALS or as its better known "Lou Gehrig's
> disease. For those of you who don't know what ALS is, here is a brief
> summary.
>
> It is a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that
> attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary
> muscles. In ALS, both the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons
> degenerate or die, ceasing to send messages to muscles. Unable to function,
> the muscles gradually weaken, waste away, and twitch. Eventually the ability
> of the brain to start and control voluntary movement is lost. Individuals
> with ALS lose their strength and the ability to move their arms, legs, and
> body. When muscles in the diaphragm and chest wall fail, individuals lose
> the ability to breathe without ventilatory support. The disease does not
> affect a person's ability to see, smell, taste, hear, or recognize touch,
> and it does not usually impair a person's thinking or other cognitive
> abilities
>
> It is terminal and there are no drugs to take in fact there isn't even a
> single test to confirm that one actually has the disease. So after finding
> out this wonderful news I went into the hospital and went through a 5 day
> infusion process that just made me worse. Last year I went on another home
> infusion program this one for a month and I developed an infection and
> became septic and almost died. But a funny thing started to happen. About
> a year ago I stopped degenerating. My legs stopped getting weaker, my hands
> which have been affected the most also stopped getting worse. In a nutshell
> the disease was halted. Last week my doctor said that I was the first
> patient that he has ever diagnosed with ALS and then had to change the
> diagnosis. We were all pretty happy. But, (there is always a but), but the
> question still remains – what do I have? The long and short answers are, we
> just don't know!
>
> So while all this has been going on (I also lost my job) I thought that I
> would begin to do some woodworking again. It didn't matter that it has been
> over 30 years since I touched any tools. Nor did it matter that the disease
> left the fine motor skills in my hands almost useless. As my son would keep
> telling me "Just try DaDa try". Now with words of encouragement like that,
> how could I not try. So I kept trying to do little things and learn about
> them at the same time. I realized that I didn't know much about hand tools
> and what I did know was hampered by my hands. It has all been very
> frustrating but at the same time it has been very exciting. Learning from
> the beginning, the right way is fine with me. Now that I have a little more
> time left. I'm in no hurry at all. And I hope to do some projects with my
> son helping me out.
> As far as tools go, I am pretty well stocked. For now. I need to thank
> some Galoots for their help in this matter. Sandy Moss has been extremely
> helpful. Is there a nicer man out there? Also Walt Q., and Mr. Blood and
> Gore himself, Tom Bruce, Mr. Hock, and most of all Christopher Schwarz from
> Popular Woodworking and the great new "Woodworking" magazine. He has been
> very generous with his knowledge and his time. In fact every time I read an
> email I am always happy to see people share their knowledge. It is a very
> rare commodity these days.
>
> Michael Rogen
>
>
> Michael Rogen
> (H) 914.763.1941
> (C) 914.649.9631
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
> aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage,
> value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
> traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.
>
> To change your subscription options:
> http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/oldtools
>
> To read the FAQ:
> http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/faq.html
>
> OldTools archive: http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/
>
> OldTools@r...
> http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/oldtools
>

------------------------------------------------------------------------