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Hometown, state: Denver, Colo.
Age: 34
Family (spouse/partner; child, grandchildren): My parents, three younger sisters and seven nieces and nephews.
Hobbies/Interests: Photography, art history, architecture, food, travel, learning about other cultures.
Favorite quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” -- Aristotle
Date of ALS diagnosis: August 14, 2008
Tell us about your life before ALS: Life before ALS was about living out the immigrant dream; about devoting my efforts toward a dream job of becoming an architect; about studying at Yale College and the Yale School of Architecture; about becoming an architect; about traveling the globe to learn; about using my professional abilities to make a difference in my city and community.
Tell us about your life with ALS: Life with ALS has been about coming together with family and friends to “slow down” time and share the pain of the tragic diagnosis, as well as to share and celebrate how fortunate we all are to still have time to be together. In the near future I also hope to use my past experiences and skills as a teacher and abilities in designing solutions toward helping with advocacy efforts.
Do you have a “life motto” or profound words to live by? I believe that in order to be successful you must always reach for higher goals — you can never feel like you are satisfied.
Has there been an “aha!” moment or a specific turn of events that has helped you live with ALS? Knowing that family and friends will be there with me and that no matter what happens, that no disease can take them away, or undo my accomplishments or take away my spirit.
Tell us how ALS has brought new significance to any aspect of your life — family, attitude, hobbies/passions, career, etc.: Knowing that one is on a life trajectory with a very different arc than one expected, ALS has made me even more aware of the need to celebrate and enjoy the simple and everyday things in life; that “every day is a miracle” has been brought into extremely sharper focus.
Is there anything else about you and/or ALS that you want to share with people who read your story? Though I am a humble person, through luck, hard work and determination, I have grown accustomed to successful results, no matter the long odds. Therefore, it has thus far been difficult for me to come to terms with ALS because it appears to give people very little choice. However, I fully plan to meet this challenge with hard work and determination (and with the hope for more good luck) toward once again beating some improbable odds.
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