Name: David Mairs

Hometown, State: Texas

Age: 65

Family:
Wife: Edith
Children: 3
Grandchildren: 9

Hobbies/Interests: Computers, history, nature, science, education, environment

Date of ALS diagnosis: August 5, 1987

Tell us about your life before ALS:
I was living in Idaho with my first wife, whom I met in 1959, and working in San Francisco, where I belonged to the electrical workers union for 25 years upon diagnosis. My daughter was in her first year of her college education and my son was living nearby. I had an apartment in San Francisco and a three-story home on five acres in Idaho. Life was good at age 43.

Tell us about your life with ALS:
The difficult period was losing the use of my hands to eat, drive, shower and read normally at the same time I was going from walking to using a cane to a wheelchair. My first wife wanted out, so I found myself living in a nursing home, where I met Edith, whom I married four years later. She has helped me live with dignity and in harmony with ALS.

Tell us how ALS has brought new significance to any aspect of your life - family, attitude, hobbies/passions, career, etc.:
The most important people are family and friends, and I remind them often of my love. As a foremost expert on living with ALS, I have contributed to making an award-winning video on the subject. Edith is always my primary concern and contributes enormously with every decision made. ALS is impossible to comprehend in many ways, but it does concentrate the focus of the mind on the important issues of life like the proper use of time and becoming a better human being.

List your favorite quote:
"Stop and smell the flowers."

Do you have a “life motto” or “profound words to live by”:
"We are all actors on the stage of life."

Has there been an “a-ha!” moment or a specific turn of events that has helped you live with ALS?
The day I met Edith (my wife) in a nursing home.

Is there anything else about you and/or ALS that you want to share with people who read your story?
I am a retired electrician. Edith and I were married in 2001. I was diagnosed with ALS in August 1987.