Inheritance

Chapter Sixty-five. Coping.

Chapter Sixty-five 

Coping 

Familial ALS is extremely rare, and the occurrence of ALS in males in their  twenties is almost unheard of, so John was doubly unlucky. Usually the destruction of motor neurons and subsequent muscle loss was a slow process in  a young person, but this was not to be . John's disease followed the same rampant course as in the case of his mother. 

Within three months, he had to resign from his position at Glaxo. He could no longer work in the laboratory environment because of the deterioration in his hand, arm and finger muscles. The firm offered him an opportunity to take a consulting position, but John decided that he would like to spend the rest of his days working on his book, and hopefully finishing before the onset of the bulbar phase that would rob him of his speech. Rachel offered to help. 

After his resignation, work on the book started in earnest. They met almost every weekday evening in a small screened off section of the town library. The tragic circumstances had diffused Rachel's hostility, and in the close proximity of the cubicle, their friendship healed, and inevitably, old passions resurfaced. 

All pretense of a platonic relationship ended one evening when they were experiencing great difficulties with a chapter on thermodynamic transfer functions. It contained many mathematical equations with peculiar symbols and lots of subscripts and superscripts. They were making numerous errors and frustrated by the complexity of the material decided to rest awhile. As usual in such circumstances they relaxed by reminiscing. 

On this occasion, their conversation turned to the travails of the rural postman and his tell tale scar, the ribbon of scar tissue that was now more evident than ever because of John's receding hairline. Affected by the conversation Rachel impulsively reached out and touched his brow. She gently moved her forefinger along the serpentine blemish. She laughed to herself. 

"This must have caused you a lot of embarrassment over the years," she said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well it was always a giveaway. A girl could always tell when you were in the mood." 

"Is it still?" 

Rachel backed away from him and gazed into his soulful eyes. She could see the longing there. She leaned across the desk, nuzzled him gently on both cheeks then pressed her moist lips to his. He responded hungrily, releasing four years of pent up frustration. She backed off. He smiled. His eyes were now sparkling and the evidence was there. 

***** 

It became increasingly difficult for John to make his way to the library so Rachel agreed to meet with him in his flat. This dwelling, a third storey apartment in a building without elevators, was completely unfitted for a person whose mobility and ability to fend for himself could only worsen as time passed. Rachel was acutely aware of this and one night broached the subject. 

"John, what are you going to do? Very soon you won't be able to manage here by yourself. You're going to have to move into a building designed for handicapped persons. Have you looked in to it?" 

"No. Not really," he replied. I was sort of thinking the National Health would take care of it. That was one reason I returned from the States. I had no health insurance, and there was no way I could afford treatment." 

"What about your parents? Could they help you out?" 

"They live in a very small cottage and I wouldn't want to bother them. You know my Dad has been through this once before and I just know he's suffering all over again. They've offered to come and look after me, but I'd rather have professional help." 

"But that would cost a fortune." 

"Even here?" 

"Oh yes. Eventually you will need constant attention and I don't think the NHS will run to that." 

"There's no option then. I'll have to resign myself to a nursing home." 

"John, there is another option."