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Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is a true story of an old man and his way of dealing with the knowledge that he is slowly dying, and a disease is taking over his body.
Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Alboms college professor more than twenty years ago. We are first introduced to Morrie while Mitch is flipping through the television channels and suddenly hears Morrie’s name. Mitch had not heard from his from professor for years and had not tried to get in touch with the professor, so the news he heard next from the screen was a shock. Morrie Schwartz, his college professor had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Scierosis or (ALS) an incurable and fatal disease that takes over your nervous system. It is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after a famous baseball player who fell victim to it.
There is no cure for ALS at this time and treatment is focused on management of the symptoms, involving a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech, respiratory, and nutritional therapies. Moderate exercise may help maintain muscle strength and function. Drugs can also treat excessive saliva and drooling, and speech therapy can help compensate for loss of muscular control of the mouth. As the disease progresses and muscular degeneration spreads throughout the body, various devices may provide support, such as ankle braces, neck collars, reclining chairs, wheelchairs, and hospital beds. Respiratory support and feeding tubes are required when the person loses cont...
It is truly remarkable how Randy Pausch and Morrie Schwartz stories are so similar but yet so different. They both seem to have an outlook on life in a positive way, not sad or demeaning. The only crippling difference is the fact that Morrie was at the age that wasn’t abnormal to be sick and Randy was just dealt the cards for a short life. One of Professor Randy Pausch’s many quotes during The Last Lecture makes a similar point between his experience and Morrie’s when he says, “…it’s hard to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – people who get it don’t live long enough.” ALS is such a rehabilitating disease that scientist have issues pinpointing the causes to even get close to a cure, which didn’t hinder either of their strive to keep going as far as they could.
While reading Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom, it is discovered that Professor Morrie Schwartz a genuine humble old man filled with life ends up being dignosed with a fatal disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which targets the neourological system. Slowly losing his range of motion, Morrie tries to continue his life as normal as possible, As he lost his ability to walk without tripping, he purchased a cane to help him get by. When he is unable to undress himself, he finds someone to assist him the locker room so he can change in and out of his swimwear. Morrie is a man that refuses to give, only to find different techniques to get by. Accepting death, Morrie writes aphorisms about accepting life how it is. Inspiring many people with his
Lou Gehrig's disease is often referred to as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), this is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons come from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the entire body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS would eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is also lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, for this reason patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed (Choi, 1988).
In the movie, “Tuesdays With Morrie”, Mitch’s old professor, Morrie, is diagnosed with ALS. Mitch finds out that he is dying, and wants to fulfill the promise to visit him after graduation. Mitch starts visiting him. He talks to him and goes places with him, but when his condition worsens it is hard to go anywhere.
Mitch Albom and Morrie Schwartz, surely, demonstrate a mutualistic relationship in Tuesdays with Morrie because both characters benefit from affection, and their visits gives them a sense of purpose. One way Mitch and Morrie share a mutualistic relationship is with love and affection. Morrie is very affectionate and outgoing, so he surrounds himself with the people he loves instead of shutting everyone out when he discovered he had ALS. Mitch describes Morrie’s need for affection when he says, “I suddenly knew why he so enjoyed my leaning over… or wiping his eyes. Human Touch. At seventy-eight, he was giving as an adult and taking as a child” (Albom 116). Mitch sees that Morrie likes affection, and at first he feels uncomfortable at first, but by his last visit, he had changed, ”I leaned in and kissed him closely…he had finally made me cry” (Albom 185-186). Mitch also benefits greatly in this relationship. After his uncle passed away, Mitch decides t...
Morrie Schwartz the lead character in Tuesdays with Morrie, receives terrible news early on that his death is near, as he is suffering from Lou G...
Tuesdays with Morrie is an inspiring tale in which Mitch, a young man struggling with the concept of a meaningful life is given a second chance, and a new outlook on life when he meets his past teacher, Morrie. They quickly renew the relationship they once possessed in college. Morrie becomes Mitch’s mentor, role model and friend once again. This time around, however, the lessons are on subjects such as life, love, and culture.
One major reason ALS is such a frightening disease is because no cure has been established. Although no effective treatment has been developed, a number of drug trials have been conducted, and there are some devices designed to help ALS patients maintain independence as well as safety as the disease progresses.
Imagine if you loss control of your body but your mind stayed unaffected. You would be a prisoner in your own body, all leading up to your death sentence. That is the sad fate for the people diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder was first described by Ran in 1850. This description was then expanded in 1873 by Charcot, who emphasized the involvement of the corticospinal tracts. In the United States, ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous ball player who was stricken by the disease in the midst of his career. (Yale School of Medicine, 2014)” In this paper will go through the definition, the process, the signs, the risk factors, etiology, and discus the known people that have suffered with this terminal disease.
Mitch Albom is an alumnus of Brandeis University, where Morrie Schwartz taught for many years. Morrie left a lasting impression on Mitch and that impression is what eventually motivated Mitch to return to his wise professor. Mitch rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man’s life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch every Tuesday in his study, just as they had done in college days. Morrie taught Mitch his final lesson: how to live.
In the novel “Tuesday’s with Morrie”, Mitch Albom describes the relationship between him and his college professor who he hasn’t seen in years. Mitch, who is a sports reporter is constantly busy and hasn’t had time to stay in touch with his professor as he promised. After sixteen years, Mitch is bombarded with the devastating news that he professor has been diagnosed with ALS. Not knowing how to face him after breaking his promise, Mitch decided to fly to Boston to apologize and to say his goodbyes. Once Mitch arrived, his professor remembered him instantly and gives him a warm welcoming hug.
This is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning it results in progressive loss or death of neurons. It often starts off with effecting simple motor skills like writing and holding things, after a few months usually patients start losing the ability to walk, talk, or move any of their limbs. Although the brain trauma is what causes it, ALS has little-no-effect on the brain. This fatal disease is typically diagnosed around age 60 and most patients are given about 3-5 years to live after being diagnosed. It has been found that 10% of cases are shown as genetic. It was brought to attention that athletes were beginning to get diagnosed with ALS at a younger age than most. After extensive research in the early 2000’s, Brain Analyst, Dr. Mckee ran tests and finally came to the conclusion that the toxic proteins in the brains of ALS patients were coming from repeated blows to the head. It was then made evident why so many athletes in contact sports such as football, soccer, boxing, etc… were being diagnosed at such a young age and more frequently than
Notable in his relation of this story is his avoidance of discussing death with his uncle, attempting to suppress the thoughts and feelings even as his uncle attempts to communicate his concerns about dying, “He...said...he wouldn't be around to see his kids into the next school year...I told him not to talk that way”(p 15). Not only this, but thereafter Mitch states that he put a premium on the time he felt he really had to live, though unfortunately this value of life came to be predominately represented in material accomplishments rather than spiritual ones. Along a similar theme, Morrie discusses his mother's illness which witnessed as a child. Morrie describes his mode of coping with his mother's illness as also being one of avoidance, evidenced by his pretending not to hear his mother calling for medicine as he played outside the house and how this was easier than confronting the reality, “In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it”(p 74). Later, after receiving the news of his mother's death and going through the grieving process, Morrie is frustrated by his father's forbidding discussion of the loss and so grieves privately through religion, attending services and saying a memorial prayer for her. Looking back on the deaths of his loved ones and that of a colleague, Morrie is able to learn from these experiences how to cope with his own death: by ensuring that there are no goodbyes left unsaid and that he is surrounded by those he loves. This inspires him to have a living funeral, rather than having it be an experience of mourning in which people say nice things that he never gets to hear, he wishes to be a celebration of his life and the relationships it has fostered.
Throughout Tuesdays with Morrie written by Mitch Albom, Morrie discusses his outlook on Dying, Death, Religion, and how Religion can help someone cope with these topics. Morrie’s experience with dying is talked about often in and is a major topic of the novel. Death, which is the end to life, is different to everyone who experiences it partially due to beliefs. Morrie’s understanding of religions help his mindset during his horrible times. An individual’s outlook on the topic of dying and death is partially influenced by society’s contrasting beliefs.
Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom, is a story of the love between a man and his college professor, Morrie Schwartz. This true story captures the compassion and wisdom of a man who only knew good in his heart and lived his life to the fullest up until the very last breath of his happily fulfilled life. When Mitch learned of Morrie’s illness, the began the last class of Morrie’s life together and together tried to uncover “The Meaning of Life.” These meetings included discussions on everything from the world when you enter it to the world when you say goodbye. Morrie Schwartz was a man of great wisdom who loved and enjoyed to see and experience simplicity in life, something beyond life’s most challenging and unanswered mysteries. Morrie was a one of a kind teacher who taught Mitch about the most important thing anyone can ever learn: life. He taught Mitch about his culture, about trust, and perhaps most importantly, about how to live.