Virginie Bijon was only 43 years of age when she succumbed to her battle with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
She was a vibrant, happy woman with a loving husband and 2 beautiful children before she felt that first weird sensation in her left leg. She was a successful Marketing Executive, living a healthy life wisely choosing the food she ingested and making sure she exercised consistently.
Within months of that first hint she had her first fall and gradually, excruciatingly lost mobility then the ability to eat, something we all take for granted.
What I admired most about this beautiful woman was that Virginie recorded what she experienced giving us all a
glimpse firsthand of the symptoms, then the gradual decline in a way that I sense somehow empowered her throughout the ordeal. In her essay she writes, “What if I “only” had cancer?” demonstrating a willingness and hope that what had afflicted her was anything EXCEPT ALS. That it was something she may be able to beat... survive.
Through reading her story you will learn so much and perhaps be more aware of how quickly life can change and to spend each and every day letting the ones you love know who much they mean to you. Like Virginie… the time may come when first you can no longer tell them, then you or they are gone.
Thank YOU Virginie for sharing your journey so bravely so that others may learn from your experiences. You are a LIGHT extinguished far too soon. Yet I sense you are still around working with the researchers to find a cure someday.
Born December 15, 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, died November 15, 2009, in Toronto, Canada at 43 years of age
Read Virginie’s Full Essay Here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/im-living-with-als/article4292739/
Find out more or Donate to finding a Cure for ALS in USA / Canada