How long does it take to watch yourself go bald? Is it something you notice over a period of either years or decades or do you all of a sudden look in the mirror one morning and say, “Oh crap, I’m bald?”
What about gaining weight? Is it possible to keep tabs on your ever expanding waistline or do you just one day notice that you have dick-du (a common condition that manifests in men when their gut sticks out more than their dick do).
I ponder these questions because every day I am forced to confront, step by step, what having ALS has done to my mobility. Two years ago this coming August, I was running the bases and roaming the outfield at a weekly softball game but as of this morning, it took me eight minutes to walk from my bedroom to the garage. In the short span of twenty-three months, I have gone from walking normally to carrying a cane to actually using the cane to holding someone’s hands as they walk backwards in front of me.
Twenty-three months.
If I had to speculate as to when I will no longer be able to walk any more, I couldn’t give you a satisfactory answer. I can tell you though, with a high degree of certainty, that I have a fairly thick head of hair.
And I was told by my doctor to gain weight.
The Adventures of ALS Boy 
Oh dear. I seem to have developed one of those “du” things, too, if that’s possible for women. I sympathize, Jason. I ran marathons. No more. Now I am just running to fat.
You made me laugh….
Hail to the full head of hair. Just think about the genes you got, and how lucky you are 🙂
AN
Well, I’ve been keeping tabs on my expanding waist while feeling powerless to do anything about it. Very frustrating. Am also watching gray hair make an appearance in my dark hair. Meanwhile my husband of 16 years wears the same size pants that he did 20 years ago and has thick hair with no gray. And he’s 2 years older than me. No fair!
I identify with two of your analogies.