I'm 51.

Among other things, I have a disease called DISH - short version: my connective tissue is turning to bone. It's hit hard in my ankles, and my spine. Best estimates from doctors familiar with the disease give me 4-6 years before I won't be able to move. I've seen orthopedic surgeons specializing in feet and ankles who look at my ankle x-rays and say that I shouldn't be able to walk today, they don't know how I'm managing.

Most days, I can't have sex. I can't move well enough. I'm supposed to be in my prime right now. This, right here, right now, is the best it will ever be for me. There is no correction possible. I'm on a collision course with, at best, a wheelchair. Quite possibly, the ossification of my anterior spinal ligament will grow so large as to impinge upon my heart, dropping me dead in my tracks.

It's frightening to compare x-rays of my T & L spine over the past few years, and see how the ossification of the spinal ligaments has progressed.

The only thing I know to do is fight. I'm not going to give up. I have a family to support. I have things I want to do. I don't care how bad the pain is, I don't care if it takes me 10 minutes to make it down a flight of stairs.

I am not stopping. I am not waving the white flag.

Yeah, I won't make it until I'm 80. I probably won't make it to 60.

Don't waste your time on crap that doesn't count. Do what's important with your life. Deal with this life on your terms. Don't let the pain and the infirmity win. Use your brain, figure it out - you can make it work.

There's only one guarantee: if you believe that you're going to fail at this, then you will fail at this.