My Hero, My brother, John

My hero is my brother, John. He has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). When he was diagnosed with it almost 4 years ago, his doctors basically told him he had less than a year to live. [I'm so glad they were wrong!] He's not my hero for outliving his doctors' predictions. He's my hero because of how he's chooses to live each day. John lives in South Carolina so I don't get to see him all the time, but I have been able to visit him about every 2 months since his diagnosis. I've talked to him on the phone and we email often. I can't remember him ever complaining about his disease. I can't remember him ever saying "Why me?" I can't remember him ever saying, "This is terrible." We have discussed his disease and the difficulties and frustrations that come with slowly becoming paralyzed, primarily how hard it is to give up your independence and rely on others for basic "life skills" (dressing, eating, etc). But, instead of the wallowing in self-pity that one might expect, I have seen someone who has said, "Well, I can't change it, so how can I make the most of it?" Obviously, he's the guy who makes lemonade out of the lemons in his life. John started the Sumter Muscular Dystrophy Fund in his hometown. (ALS is one of the muscular dystrophy diseases). He has worked to make the lives of others touched by Muscular Dystrophy better. [I guess John's living out the philosophy I spouted the other day Jesus tells us our joy will be complete when we follow God's commands. It is looking beyond ourselves; it is in looking toward God; it is in helping others that we experience that joy.] John has turned to God and in the process been an incredible example of how to live life (whether or not you have a terminal illness). I want to be just like my little brother when I grow up.