Sue Bermingham

This beautiful woman is my Mama who recently passed away from ALS…… This amazing lady was an avid snow skier and hiker; she worked out daily and took impeccable care of her body. She was always perfectly put together with fabulous taste in her clothes, manicured nails, pedicured toes and weekly visits for facials and beauty treatments….. Then, after all of those years taking such precise care of herself, she watched helplessly as her body gave way to the ravages of ALS. She watched as her hands curled and became useless, as the strong legs that had carried her up so many mountains and ski’d her down so many hills became so weak she could no longer walk or stand, as her beautiful sing-songy voice faded until she could no longer speak, as her muscles gave way and she could no longer eat or even swallow, and each day she struggled more and more just to breathe….. And all the while her mind remained crystal clear and sharp as a tack. Through all of this, I never once heard my mom say she hated ALS . Not once did she feel sorry for herself or feel she was being punished or slighted in some way on her journey… There was NEVER, EVER a “why me?” This amazing woman actually embraced this disease as a gift given to help her learn the lessons she came here to learn. She remained lighthearted and her wit never failed her even in the most trying times. She truly believed that this was all part of her journey, the greater plan and everything was just as it should be…. She counseled me on how to deal with her leaving this earth and helped me to try and find my way through the pain of losing my mom before she even left!! What an amazing unexpected gift! I know my beautiful mom will always be with me influencing my decisions and counseling me when I get lost…. And while I will miss her voice and her humor and her laugh, I will always stay very close to her spirit … and I will always remember that the difficulties that come our way in life are not here to punish us or cause us grief and pain, but they come as our teachers and simple catalysts to ensure we learn the lessons we set out to learn when we came here. ALS took my Mom’s body but, she made damn sure it embraced and lifted her spirit and in the end sent her back home gracefully in a beautiful wave of love and light …. I LOVE YOU Mama!! Give Koley a kiss for me and remember, when you see Dad, if you don’t’ have anything nice to say … just don’t say anything at all :-) xoxo!!!