Sherwin was diagnosed with ALS in March of 2013. At that point, the disease was affecting his hands, arms and neck muscles, but Sherwin had noticeable weakness in hands and arms for 2 years prior to his diagnosis. By the Spring of 2015, Sherwin had lost the use of his hands.
With the help of the ALS Society and their equipment program, the clinic at South Health Campus, the ACETS clinic, and of course our local Homecare network, they made it possible for him to be as independent as he could be, providing him with electric wheelchairs, neck and arm braces, hands-free iPad technologies etc.
We were fortunate to be able to hire a personal care aide that was also interested in Sherwin’s “hobby,” woodworking. Krista became his hands, as Sherwin taught her to use all the power tools. Together they figured out and built everything from pens and bowls on the lathe, to crib boards, jewelry boxes, beds, nightstands, blanket chests – they had a lot of fun. Krista said Sherwin was a good teacher for those that wanted to learn, as Sherwin loved to research things on his iPad for our son David, or anyone else who needed it. The woodworking shop was in our garage, and on nice days the big door was open for neighbours and kids to come visit and see what was next to build.
The power chair provided by the ALS Society, which he controlled with his foot, gave Sherwin the ability to go on his own to visit in our neighborhood, and race the kids on their bikes. Sherwin spent a lot of time at his cousin’s stables where she raised gypsy horses. He would go in his chair amongst the horses, they were so quiet. We also spent time with Sherwin’s two best friends, his dogs Cooper & Katie, at an off-leash dog park at the river. That truly was one of his favourite places.
Church was a special place for Sherwin too, where we would meet our daughter, Julie. Sherwin’s faith was strong - in hospice, Sherwin said “I know where I’m going, and I can’t wait to get there”. Sadly, we lost Sherwin in October of 2019. Sherwin was a great husband, dad, grandpa and friend - with the help of family, faith, church, and the ALS Society of Alberta, we made it through. Jean Flanders