Morrie's physical deterioration from ALS in Tuesdays With Morrie

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."

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."

6. Are Morrie's thoughts positive?

a. "I would raise my hand, as if I was going to make a negative gesture, and then I would wave and smile. Instead of giving them the finger, you let them go, and you smile."

b. "I'm on the last great journey here -- and people want me to tell them what to pack."

c. "Ahhhh, it's my buddy."

7. Are Morrie's thoughts negative?

a. "I cry all the time now."

b. "There are some mornings when I cry and mourn for myself. Some mornings, I'm so angry and bitter."

c. "Dying,' Morrie suddenly said, 'is only one thing to be sad over, Mitch. Living unhappy is something else."

8. Is he optimistic or pessimistic?

a. "His father's death helped prepare Morrie for his own. This much he knew: there would be lots of holding and kissing and talking and laughter and no good-byes left unsaid."

b. "He would make death his final project, the center point of his days. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be research."

c. "Death ends a life, not a relationship."

9. What are his three goals?

a. Morrie's ultimate goal is