Published: June 26, 2008 12:26 pm      

Giving up a dream

Winamac couple deal with ALS

WINAMAC — Six months after opening their dream business, Ann and Marshall Fagner found out news that would change both of their lives in a way neither had expected.

The owners of Just Plain Annie in Winamac had to find a way for someone else to take over the quilting shop when Marshall, 57, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in February. A trip in March to the Indiana University Medical Center confirmed the diagnosis.

“It was pretty fast,” said Ann. “Looking back we think there were signs last summer.”

The disease usually occurs in people between the ages of 40 and 70, according to the ALS Association Web site.

“ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that usually attacks both upper and lower motor neurons and causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord,” says the Web site.

Basically, the disease affects the nerves, which send signals for the muscles to move. The muscles eventually become weak.

Ann said the signs started out small and perhaps even unnoticeable. She said the first signs were more like clumsiness, such as tripping.

Once he went to the doctor, the diagnosis was originally arthritis, so Marshall walked with a cane.

The disease started to spread, and his muscles began to twitch more noticeably.

Ann said Marshall once had perfect handwriting, but one day it didn’t look the same.

“I could tell something was wrong,” she said. “We thought it was a stroke because it was just one side.”

By the end of February, he was forced to use a walker and occasionally a wheel chair. By April, he was using the wheel chair all the time.

Symptoms started in his right leg, Ann said. His right arm soon fell victim, and then he began to lose his voice and his ability to swallow. He can now eat only soft foods and even those cause him to choke, said his wife.

Last week, he began to feel the effects of the disease in his diaphragm.

“I couldn’t take a deep breath,” he said.

Ann said the adjustment period has become tricky.

“The disease takes one piece at a time,” she said as her eyes filled with tears. “Once you adjust to one thing, something else happens.”

The couple have been fortunate and have had a large amount of support from their four sons, close friends, church members and even Marshall’s retired sixth-grade teacher.

The ALS group let Marshall borrow an electric wheel chair to move around in. Ann’s sister borrowed an armchair with a lift. A close friend whose wife died of ALS in December, lent them a mini van, a wheel chair and a ramp to get into the house.

Going through their friend’s battle with ALS allowed the couple to prepare for their own.

“The good thing is we knew what was coming,” said Ann. “The bad thing is we knew what was coming.”

There is no medication Marshall can take to help him, but he keeps his spirits high.

For now, Marshall enjoys bird watching out the front window and looking at the flowers outside, especially the more than 100 hostas.

While ALS tries to slow down Marshall’s body, the Winamac resident won’t let it shelter him.

The couple still attend church and even helped to decorate for Bible school last week. Marshall hopes to make it to the park, as well as the upcoming fair.

“If I feel like I do today, we’ll keep doing it,” said Marshall about traveling.

“He might have a few more miles in him,” Ann said as Marshall leaned his head back on the wheel chair and smiled.

They both look forward to their 35th wedding anniversary in July.

Even though Ann couldn’t run the business any more, she feels their dream has lived on. The store is still open, under the same name and for Ann, that means all the world.

“Things don’t always turn out how you want,” she said. “I think they turned out how they were supposed to be.”

Denise Massie can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or via e-mail at denise.massie@pharostribune.com