Dear Jim,

It was a pleasure meeting you. Who would have ever thought such a devastating disease would bring myself, you, and your sister together.

You asked me questions about my condition but I did not want to discuss it in front of my daughters and watch their faces as they had to translate every detail of my painful disease.

So here it is, every word, painfully and slowly dictated by me to my dad (Albert Mcgee).

How do I face every day? I have to; I am a mom. In my darkest moments, the most painful overwhelming lonely times, I am quickly and thankfully brought back to the reality of having two girls that need to be reminded to finish their homework, feed the dog, clean their rooms, and get ready for bed.

I have no choice, thank God, but to face it . . . Brittney and Jessica deserve that!

Who was I before ALS. Outgoing, bossy, creative, busy, loyal, demanding, giving, loving, and funny, if I must say so myself.

The crappy part about ALS is that I am still that same person only now I am trapped inside. Because ALS is such an unforgiving disease, it affects everything except my mind, so I have the sick pleasure of being painfully aware of who I once was (see, I told you I was funny)!

Why is private school my priority? Many of your readers will ask themselves, "How can she think about money for private school; my own kids are even in private school."

For me, it is not specifically about the education although I won’t lie, the education is outstanding.

For me, it’s about the faith. It is about my daughters being surrounded by a Catholic-filled foundation. I need the peace of mind to know that my daughters’ friends and their schools are built on our same belief so that when they ask, "Why would a loving God do this?" they’ll have a place and lots of people to help them with the answer.

So there you have it; that is what I wanted you to know.

Danielle Camacho, Mother of two, friend of many.

PS: You will get treatment, you will survive, and you will write many stories on ALS that will move people to donate and find a cure. Your sister and I need you. (Did I mention that I used to be bossy?)