Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays With Morrie

Physically:

How is Morrie eating?

"He was eating mostly liquid supplements, with perhaps a bran muffin tossed in until it was mushy and easily digested."

"He was taking food through a straw. I still shopped every week and walked in with bags to show him, but it was more for the look than anything else."

"He had begun to cough while eating, and chewing was a chore."

How is Morrie talking?

"When you're in bed, you're dead."

"Once this thing hits my lungs, talking may become impossible. I can't speak for too long without needing a rest now."

"I'm bargaining with Him up there now. I'm asking Him, 'Do I get to be one of the angels?'"

How is Morrie sleeping?

"I knew Morrie's nights were becoming difficult, that he didn't sleep through them."

b. "He could sleep only a few hours at a time before violent hacking spells woke him."

c. "His sleeping time was getting worse. He needed oxygen almost nightly now, and his coughing had become frightening."

4. How is Morrie breathing?

a. "He developed asthma in his sixties. His breathing became labored. One day he was walking along the Charles River, and a cold burst of wind left him choking for air."

b. "We laughed, and Morrie laughed, too, as hard as he could, with his limited breathing."

c. "My old professor was taking morphine now to ease his breathing."

5. Is Morrie in pain?

a. "His legs needed constant tending (he could still feel pain, even though he could not move them)."

b. "Morrie shut his eyes and shook his head. He seemed to be waiting for some silent pain to pass."

c. "The disease had left Morrie without the ability even to wiggle his toes, yet he could still feel pain."

6. How is Morrie losing the use of his hands?

a. "He was not waving his hands to make a point as freely as he had…What am I going to do without my hands?"

b. "I watched him now, his hands working gingerly, as if he were learning to use them for the very first time."

c. "He was struggling with something beneath the sheets, and I realized he was trying to move his hands towards the opening."

d. "I feel around my body, I move my fingers and my hands -- whatever I can still move -- and I mourn what I've lost."

e. "I noticed that he quivered now when he moved his hands."

7. How is Morrie losing the use of his legs?

a. "His legs were dead. He would never walk again. Yet he refused to be depressed."

b. "Morrie was in his wheelchair by the kitchen table, wearing a loose cotton shirt and even looser black sweatpants. They were loose because his legs had atrophied beyond normal clothing size."

c. "Nurses came to his house to work with Morrie's withering legs, to keep the muscles active."

d. "ALS is like a lit candle: it melts your nerves and leaves your body a pile of wax. Often, it begins with the muscles in your legs and works its way up."

e. "Although the spring sunshine was warm, he wore a windbreaker and his legs were covered by a blanket."

One of Morrie's hobbies is eating and every Tuesday, Mitch brings food to Morrie's apartment from the grocery store. Morrie's deteriorating health is made evident through his consumption of food and the loss of his motor functions. He cannot walk and as the story progresses, he loses the ability to move other parts.

B. Mentality:

1. Is Morrie mentally tough?

a. "For all that was happening to him, his voice was strong and inviting, and his mind was vibrating with a million thoughts. He was intent on proving that the word 'dying' was not synonymous with 'useless.'"

b. "Morrie's love for music was strong even before he got sick, but now it was so intense, it moved him to tears."

c. "Take any emotion -- love for a woman, or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness."

2. Evaluate his ability to cope.

Morrie is dealing with his condition as best he can. As a learned man, he understands that the best tool against his physical deterioration is to enjoy what little time he has left and to try his best to stay sharp mentally.

3. Evaluate his ability to make decisions.

Morre is described as a man who is full of wisdom and emotional strength. While still healthy, Morrie was able to make decisions easily based on choosing the best path. As he has gotten more and more ill, he still attempts to keep his senses sharp so that he can make choices when they are presented to him.

4. Examples of Morrie's intelligence:

a. "I delight in being a wise old man when it's appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own."

b. "A wise man named Levine said it right. He said, 'Love is the only rational act.'"

c. "In addition to all the miseries, the young are not wise. They have very little understanding about life."

5. Morrie's thoughts:

a. "I think, in light of what we've been talking about all these weeks, family becomes more important."

b. "Everyone know they're going to die,' he said again, 'but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things."

c. "People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and the keep running."