He fought bravely, he fought hard, he fought long, and he fought silently against ALS. But he lost. Unrelenting, unforgiving and incurable ALS won and we lost our father yesterday.

The kindest, nicest, most gentle soul – he never raised his voice on anyone, never lost his cool in any situation, never said a single negative word about any person. And ALS picked him.

He ate a healthy vegetarian diet, did not smoke, did not drink, did an hour of yoga everyday, walked 10,000 steps (obsessively) everyday. And ALS picked him.

Papa spent the last 3 years of his life trapped in his own body – unable to walk, move, eat, swallow, speak. He was left entirely dependent on caregivers for every single thing. He had a tube in his stomach to feed him, he needed help even with spitting out his own saliva.

We tried as best as we could to take care of him, to make sure he was comfortable and always surrounded by love. I hope he realized how precious he was to us, and how much he was loved. But we all lost.

Papa is free now, and probably walking 10,000 steps and doing yoga somewhere. Walk on, Papa – you are no longer restrained by the limitations of your body. You have 3 years worth of 10k steps daily to catch up to. You were loved, and you will be missed.

In grief,

All of us.