The stories we hold within

While updating my Facebook Group, I came across a story about someone who had developed an app that can take a short voice recording and preserve that person’s voice for posterity, in case they lost their ability to speak. He then donated the proceeds from the sales of the app to a group called Live Like Lou.

Of course, I googled the organisation to ensure it was legitimate. And that was when I realised that the “Lou” referred to Lou Gehrig.

Now, I don’t follow American baseball, but I know enough to know that Lou Gehrig was a famous American baseball player. What I did not know was that he had ALS, a disease that would later become so closely associated with him that it is often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

As I went through the website, I learned that Gehrig left baseball after being diagnosed with ALS. Then I watched the footage of his farewell speech. There he was: an emotional man standing at the microphone, with the crowd in the stands and his teammates behind him, announcing his departure from the sport he loved. I saw a man who stood brave in the face of his upcoming battle, his heart filled with gratitude for the path that he has walked on. It was clearly not an easy move to announce his retirement from baseball, but he did it with grace and courage.

This led me to wonder about the many stories that remain untold in our lives, behind closed doors and polite smiles.