George's Ride: 10 Miles

"Today is the happiest day of my life!", exclaimed George Soerheide, 56, on his wedding day to Barbara Horvath in June, 1993. It was a second marriage for both, but a normal marriage for them was not to be.

Soon after their wedding, George noticed his right foot dropping, and was diagnosed with ALS in December 1993. Barbara and George were shocked, then totally devastated. They decided to try to beat ALS by participating in experimental drug trials, going to "healers" physical therapy, good nutrition enhanced with good wine, and especially a positive attitude.

George was a natural - he was loving and affectionate by nature, and his eyes laughed more often than not. He often said, even after his diagnosis, how blessed he was, being given time to prioritize his life by surrounding himself with family and friends, by exploring his spirituality through nature, the arts and lots of reading.

Before his legs failed, they visited a friend in Laussaune, Switzerland. One day, after renting bikes at a local train station, they rode the train to the top of the mountain, then rode their bikes back down to the beginning, stopping at some beautiful villages and tasting the local cuisine, a fine example of George's "joie de vivre" in the face of disability.

George passed away on January 31, 2001, after choosing to be on a ventilator the last two years of his life while living at home and being cared for by Barbara and several nurses. All who knew him described him as courageous, loving, and never bitter about this debilitation and always-fatal illness.