I'm Dying to Tell You
I'm Dying to Tell You
Young Widow’s ALS Story: Faith, Love & Their Miracle Baby -2/2
In this second part of my chat with 33-year-old widow Melanie Lang, we talk about her & her husband Tyler’s biggest miracle, their daughter. Tyler only spent 6 weeks with his precious baby girl before he died of ALS at a young 33.
Melanie’s perspective & big heart shines through as she talks about using their platform “Don’t Waste A Day” to help other families in Tyler’s memory. Her family will be raising funds to send ALS families on vacations that they wouldn’t experience otherwise.
To learn more about Melanie’s first “Don’t Waste A Day” event, visit here: https://www.dontwasteaday.org/
Listen in & share with a friend. If it’s on your heart, leave a review to help others find this sweet message. Hugs, Lorri
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It was just such an inspiration to me to see someone in such a tough spot that couldn't, you know, get up and go work out or couldn't get up and read on their own. Like it couldn't scratch his face. Like, hey, my eye itches. Can you scratch my eye? Like, I just couldn't imagine that. And not only that, but then for him to just be like so excited for the day, like it just like blew my whole worldview of like, we really do have a choice. We have a choice every single day when we wake up to say, you know, what no matter what happens to me today, like it is gonna be a great day. Like I'm gonna make it a great day. Like if someone tells me I have two to five years to live, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go have the best wedding of my life. Like I just it just was like so incredible.
SPEAKER_04:Oh my gosh. Hi, I'm Lori, your host of I'm Titan to Tell You. And that was Melanie Lang, my guest today, my guest in the last episode, and that was just a little clip of our conversation in part one, where she is talking about her husband, Tyler, who passed away from ALS a year ago at the age of thirty-three. Okay, a quick rewind. Let's jump in with the intro.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, I'm Paul, and I'm Christian. Welcome to I'm Dying to Tell You. Inspiration shared by our mom who is dying from ALS.
SPEAKER_00:There's no cure for our mom or anyone else with ALS. But right now, she's on a mission to find and share stories of inspiration.
SPEAKER_01:Coming to you from Cincinnati, Ohio, we're happy to introduce the one lady we've both loved since the first day we laid eyes on her. The Queen of the Queen City, our mom, your host, Lori.
SPEAKER_04:Thank you all for being here. I really appreciate it. And I am so excited to share more of my conversation with Melanie Lang. She has so much on her heart, so many great things to share that we decided to put it into a two-parter and continue our conversation. So in this part two, we are going to pick up where Melanie talks about her and Tyler's biggest miracle. It's pretty heartwarming. You are young and you're living with ALS in your life. And tell me about your biggest miracle. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So our biggest miracle is our little baby girl, Callie. She is, I mean, I I there's no other word. Miracle is like an understatement almost. Um early on, very early on, we had um, you know, the conversation with the doctors about getting tested for the familial gene. So a lot of people do that to, you know, roll out or roll in having kids. Some people don't, totally fine. I totally understand every which way that people do that. Um, we ended up getting the test done. And I remember I will never forget it. We were living with my parents. He was sitting on the couch, I was standing in the kitchen. We had just gotten our dog, Lucy, not too long ago. So we I was trying to keep her off the carpet because she was having accidents and all the things. But Tyler gets a call, talks for a few minutes, and then hangs up and he looks at me and he said, We got the results. And he was smiling, so I knew. So what are they? And he said, you know, it's not that gene, which was going to make our decision for us. We decided if he didn't have it, that we would try. And if he did, then we wouldn't. And we were okay with that. We prayed a lot about it. So I just remember sobbing, you know, running over, hugging him. He was still walking and, you know, fairly normal, normally functioning at that time. So we tried, gosh, a couple of years, over a year maybe, you know, it wasn't happening. And we just said, you know what, this is a sign it's not supposed to happen. Um, and that's okay. Like we we had a lot on our plate. It was a full-time job starting to, you know, Tyler retired, ended up retiring, and then I was working full-time and taking care of him fairly full-time. So we stopped trying. And then it was 24, beginning of 2024. I find out I'm pregnant, which is the crazy thing ever. And again, the fact that we weren't trying and that it happened was like crazy because it's not like a regular couple where that's like very likely. It was not very likely in our situation. And um, I mean, just insane. Like, I I had never been more surprised in my entire life. And the thing that I love about Tyler is when I told him, I like got a little box of like, you know, I love my dad, bib, and you know, different stuff like that. In the um, you know, the test, and I just opened the box and I tilted it up and he started crying and he said, I knew it. And I was like, What? And he said, I just had this weird feeling. You hadn't told me that you started or whatever. And it, you know, he's like, I just had this crazy feeling. And so we just, you know, celebrated and stuff. But he was just so like in tune with like, I mean, even him saying, like, what if it's ALS in the very beginning when he first had symptoms? Like, he was just very in tune with everything that was going on with him, with me, all of that. And when we saw the first ultrasound, he said, It's a girl. And I was like, Oh, he said, I know it. He said, I have the strongest feeling in the world that it's a girl. I have no doubt that it's a girl, and it was a girl. Oh wow. He said he was a little nervous to have a girl because he he's of like sports, and he's like, I'm just not very good at girl things. I was like, You are gonna be amazing. Oh so yeah, we um, you know, caretaking and being pregnant is a crazy ride, I will say. Um, but we made it work, and I literally lifted him the day before I had Cali, like did a transfer with him. And my doctors were great. They were like, Yeah, like as long as you're not, you know, feeling uncomfortable or you know, you're okay. So we made it through that, and yeah, she was due on November 1st, but ended up coming October 26th of 24. And it was like amazing. I mean, it it's absolutely a miracle. I the fact that I get half of him here with me forever is just I couldn't ask for anything else. Like it's it was the best thing ever. So he always could be dad, and I I always wanted to be a mom too, but I think I was like okay with not, like knowing that what the situation that we were in. And we had asked my parents and his parents and our aunt that lived, she actually still lives with me now, um if they would help us because we knew we couldn't do it by ourselves with what was going on, and they were all like, Oh my gosh, of course. So that was that was years ago though. So then when we told them they all about fell out of their chairs, like they I mean, everybody was like beyond shock. Like they it was beautiful. I mean, it was so cool to tell everybody. And I mean, everybody was like, What in the world are we gonna do? But it was just such a joy, it was so joyful too.
SPEAKER_03:They were like, What? Yay, right? I mean, how is this gonna happen?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes. So I think everybody um, you know, was just like incredibly happy, but also like it was like doubly emotional on a different level because of everything, and um, yeah, it she's just the funniest, silliest, funkiest, craziest girl. Like, reminds me so much. Just yeah, it's such a blessing. Just had her first birthday um a week ago, and uh yeah, she's doing amazing. She's she's the best little baby, she's such a good baby. Um does she look like Tyler? I think so. I think she everybody says she's a good mix, but uh yeah, I just see him through and through, probably.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yes. So then they song when she was born. Did Tyler have a couple of months with her?
SPEAKER_02:So it was the end of October, and then he passed away early December. So he whenever we kind of made our game plan for when I gave birth to her, we had talked about him coming for a little bit. It would have been really tough. He wasn't really getting up much. So we talked, obviously, we're like, there's this amazing thing called FaceTime that we can go in. I know that's like so bittersweet because it's like you're almost there, but it truly felt like he was there. Like, I don't I think we both looked back at Callie's birth, like we were so happy with how it went. My two sisters and then my mom came with me to the hospital, and then Tyler's mom, aunt, sister, and dad were here with him to kind of take care of him over all the stuff while I was gone. And um, they were like on FaceTime. I was like, the whole world is invited to my birth.
SPEAKER_04:I was gonna say they weren't there to help him, they were there to be in the room, yeah, FaceTime.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So we there's actually a video of there's a video of someone videoing my mom has the phone with Tyler, and he that she's like showing him Callie and me. And I just like I look at it and I'm just like, it I just remember like looking at the phone and being like, We did it, like you made it, because there was a time here that year where he was had a little spell where it was pretty tough. And so once she was born, and I mean, like literally the best moment of my life was bringing her home and like walking upstairs and like getting to introduce her in person to him, it was just amazing. Um, but it was cute because when we were on FaceTime at the hospital, like the nurses would be like, Okay, we're gonna come in and like do this and that. And I'm like, Okay, we'll let you go, we'll call you right back. He's like, No, no, like I'm saying on the phone. So he just was so you know, he was so involved in it, and he was having a lot of issues with like the panic attacks from breathing. Yeah, and I was so worried to leave him, and like it was just anytime I left, he was like very, very on edge. Um, so I was very nervous about it. But his mom and everybody, my aunt and everybody there, like he did so well. He was so like he was he just did awesome. So it was, I mean, I always think about like how he must have felt, you know, going to sleep, like knowing that like he wasn't able to be there. But you know, when we came home and stuff, he was just the happiest ever. She just laid with him for that whole month. I mean, it was it was amazing. Like they got to have that. He got to meet her. We just kept praying, like, we really like we hope you can meet her, we hope you can meet her. And he got to, and yeah, it just even the timing of that was a miracle too, because like I said, you know, had gone through a little bit of a tough spell and then was able to meet her and spend some time with her and us have our little family together. And you know, it was tough with like having her and him, like he would wake up in the night, she would wake up and like there was just a lot of like caregiving things that were very difficult. But I for I just remember, you know, like filling up his humidifier and being like, There might be a day that I don't get to do this anymore. So I just even in that craziness, like tried to just soak it in and like be so appreciative of it. Um I mean, best weeks of my life for sure, like yeah, having us all together and such a blessing.
SPEAKER_04:What a gift. I mean, because he was really he was really in a bad state at that time. It wasn't like you were like, oh, I mean, he could live for another year or anything like that. Like he was in final stages at that time, and you knew that.
SPEAKER_02:Looking back, I think we maybe had an idea that he was not doing as well. But in the time, like in the moment, it it felt like it was somewhat sudden, but we obviously knew he wasn't doing that well. He was having the panic attacks, we were having to do like the medication all the time. Um, he was on hospice for over a year, home hospice. So we had a, you know, our nurse that would come and do our weekly appointments and things like that. But I think you just get used to the stage that you're in. So it's like, yeah, he's always like you almost trick yourself into thinking like, well, it's just not gonna get worse, it's just gonna stay like this, like every stage. But then when you look back at like pictures or videos, you're like, oh my gosh, like it's so different from what what it was. But day to day, you don't like notice those changes as much. Um, but yeah, we definitely um he was having trouble, especially with the breathing at that time, obviously.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I know that you have a lot of great messages and life lessons to pass on to Callie from Tyler. But is there anything in particular that you're really looking forward to sharing with her about her dad? You know, when she's older, when she's older than a year.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh, a million a million things.
SPEAKER_03:A million things.
SPEAKER_02:She's gonna be so annoyed with me because I'm just gonna tell her a million stories. But she's gonna, you know, she's gonna think you're lying. Yeah, she's gonna be like, I don't think I'm gonna be all that. No. I know, I know. But the the amazing thing is, like, anyone that knows me, I'm very like, I take a lot of pictures and I take a lot of videos. So I'm very like, I don't know if like somehow I knew what was gonna happen. I don't know. But even from the beginning of our relationship, I was always filming him. I was always filming him. So I have so many videos, so many pictures. Like a lot of my friends are like, I like just you would like film him like an everyday moment. It wasn't like when we were like, and we I would do that too, like if we were out somewhere doing something cool, but it was just like before bed, like, or if he was like doing something funny or whatever, like I would just and he'd be like, Stop filming me, why are you always filming me?
SPEAKER_04:Like I yeah, I don't know. Which is funny me, can she send him some private, you know? He was like private, so it's funny that you yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So it mostly was just for like I would, you know, if it was like her anniversary or something, I would make a little video for him to like show like, oh, this is our type, and like how we're you know, a lot of videos of like me and him together or him with his friends, him with my friends, like that type of thing. So I have so much to show her from like videos to show her of how he was, like how he was, and then how he progressed. And then at the end, there's videos of the three of us, like him holding her and like the most sleeping and like that type of stuff. So I'm so excited to show her like his personality and the funny things that he was just so funny. He always made everything so fun. Like I remember, you know, we had talked about it on my family, my mom's side of the family. We go on vacation every year, and you know, everybody's just like, man, like now that Tyler's not here, like the party's really not here. Like he just so much like fun and like joy to you know, any situation just made it fun. Like it could just be having dinner, but he would, you know, make up a game or something. Like he just always was having so much fun. So I'm excited to show her like the videos and you know, the letters and things that we did and pictures and things that you know I have. That's more like surface level stuff. But then as far as I guess this is my hope. I hope that I'm able to express what he did for her in terms of he fought so hard to be here to meet her. Um, I I honestly think it was pure will um for him to be able to, you know, meet her and be here with her for a time. And he just wanted to meet her so bad. And I want her to be able to see that we all are so much more capable than we think we are. Like there's so many things that we always just say, oh, well, like I could never do that. And I'm like, no, you can do it. And Tyler was the same way. Like he, I remember him being saying to me, Did you ever think you would be a nurse? And I was like, No, like I'm a designer, like I'm a graphic designer, so I would never think I could, you know, clean a peg tube or do feed the feeding tube, or you know, go through all these things that we had to do every single day. Like, you know, he had the breathing machine, like making sure that all the parts were there, like calling insurance, figuring out all that stuff. Like he's like, You're literally a nurse. Like, you can you believe it? I was like, no, I really can't. And he's like, I I can't believe half the things I've done. Like, we just are all so much more capable than what our comfort zone is, I think. And once you get in a situation like that where you're pushed, I guess, to your limits, I mean, there's nothing that you can't do. And I hope she picks up on that from me and Tyler. And I'm so glad that he instilled that in me. There's so many things I've learned from him, you know, having faith, no matter what the circumstance being the top thing. But I think just, you know, keeping your head down, working hard, do as best as you can for as long as you can. And just those little things like love someone, love everyone, your spouse, your kids, your family, like it's the last day that you'll see him because you'll be kinder, you'll be happier, you'll be more grateful. Like, I can't imagine living life any other way. And unfortunately, like sometimes that comes with a very tough perspective. Like, I'm sure you understand that, like, as well as anyone too. Like going through something like this, like you just learn to be so grateful for those little things. That I mean, just sitting on the porch and looking out at your own yard, like he like would cry. He would be like, I'm so happy, I'm so grateful. I get to sit out here on the porch with you. Like, it's just to have that level of gratefulness for such small things. I I hope that we can instill that in her and our family, you know. Like, I hope our family live. Differently because of it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Um I bet so. And as you were talking, I'm thinking about man, lucky girl. Like she's gonna get all these gifts from Tyler, but also from you, you know? And so you're doing great, you're a wonderful mom. And yeah, she's gonna be full of goodness for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Yeah. I love that you said you're doing great. Um, just a quick side story. Um so whenever I would transfer him, there there was, you know, when he was still walking, it was much easier. But there's some really tough, tricky things that we had to pull off to get him in different, you know, situations for transfers and stuff. And I would always say, You're doing great, you're doing great. Like would he be like, Okay, like how many times are you gonna say that today? Like, I would almost like say it to myself, like, we're doing great, we got this. Like, don't let him fall, like all these things. And so he would kind of make fun of me because I would just say, you know, you're doing great all the time. Like anytime, you know, he lost control of his neck. So it would be like I would have to hold his head while transferring him, make sure his head was safe. Um, his neck was safe. So I would just say it all the time. And then once we kind of got to a point where we were having a lot harder conversations in some really hard moments, Tyler would start saying it to me, like, you're doing great. Like basically your head up. Like it was just like a way that we had a cute like saying that we had to each other, or if he was having a really rough day, I would, you know, would just be like, You're doing great, like a little pick me up. So every time I hear that, it just makes me oh like it was from him. I just love it.
SPEAKER_04:Oh wow, we're getting all sorts of uh wing from him right now. That's awesome. Oh my gosh. So right now when we're talking, it's November and it's uh National Caregivers Month. I mean, uh you're like the ultimate caregiver being pregnant. And so what are some things that people might not know or understand about being a caregiver?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that is that's a a tough one. I feel like one thing that I ended up understanding, and it made my life significantly better once I kind of got to this point. I remember there was a time where Tyler was very uncomfortable when I wasn't around, like wasn't at the house. So if I would leave, he would, he would just be very anxious. I was gonna go do something, I don't even remember what it was, but he was having a really rough day. And we decided like it would be best if I didn't go and do it. And I just felt like I really needed the break and I was really upset and I was kind of you know crying and like just like, oh my gosh, this is like I feel trapped. I can't imagine how he feels if I feel trapped because I can do whatever I want and you know, physically and things like that. So I can't imagine how he he feels. And I just, you know, prayed about it and I said, I need to manage my expectations in terms of like this is what our life is now. This is what my life is. And anything on top of that is just extra. It's great. If I make it out of the house, great. If someone comes over and have a visit, great. And there was like, you know, I there was nothing more that I love than spending time with Tyler. Um, but I think I think managing that expectation of like, this is what it is. Like, he can't leave. You know, he has a hard time when you leave. And they my family did a great job of letting me, you know, do different things, leave the house. And anytime I left, I just wanted to come home. Like I dismissed them and I would so it was like you get a place where you do feel trapped, but then when you get a chance to, you know, leave, you're like, okay, I have 20 minutes left. He probably just woke up from a nap, like you just get to that point where it's like 24-7 caregiving, and there's all different, you know, varying levels of it. But I think managing my expectations and always putting myself in Tyler's shoes of like, what would I want Tyler to do for me? And try to remember that every time that I did get frustrated, it helped me so much because, you know, at the end of the day, all of these situations are temporary, no matter if you're healed, if they don't make it, whatever ends up happening. You know, in the moment, it feels like so long. It feels like, oh my gosh, I haven't left the house in forever. But then I look back and I'm like, it was so fast, it was so quick. Like, and all you want to do is spend time with that person. Like, so I think the expectation, managing my expectations of this is my life now, you know, this is where we're at, and like giving myself the room to be upset about some of that stuff, but also, you know, not putting 20 things on my calendar when I know that that's not a realistic thing for the time. Um, yeah. So I think that really helped me a lot.
SPEAKER_04:And then I forget the second part of your question you said and asked about people might not understand.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think with ALS, it is, I think people do understand, but if you don't know someone with it or have been around it, it is like anything that you would do for yourself, you cannot do. So it's like my eye itches, you know, I'm drooling, can you wipe it off? Like it's so intimate and so situations that are so tough or maybe like traumatic for to feel like you can't do something for yourself. And it's not in a situation where, you know, someone has lived their full life and they're winding down on their life. It's like what should be like the prime of your life, having to do some of this stuff. So I think from that perspective, it was like it made me really proud because you know, my family, my sister once said, like, sometimes when we come over, like it's just so much fun, we like forget. Like we forget like that you guys are like going through this and all these things. And so she's like, Sometimes if you like tell us what you're going through or things that you have to do, like because when people are visiting, we don't do all the stuff that you know, when they're not there, we're gonna do a bath and bed and like all these different things. So I think it's the realization of like how intense it is, like the 24-7 care, especially for ALS, is really extreme. And just to kind of have a respect for the people that are going through that and just for them to be present is tough. Like to just lay there and breathe and like a bunch of stuff is going on, and like it's 24-7. It's anything that they would do on their own that someone else needs to do. So I just think that piece of it is stuff that maybe people don't realize. And in a way, with ALS, you build up to it. So it's like in the beginning, you don't do as much, but then as time goes on, there's so many things that you add to your plate. And to be honest, like it does sound like a lot and overwhelming, but it was my favorite job I've ever had was taking care of him. So you can do it. Um that would be my advice to people is like just kind of manage your expectations and that you can do it and ask for help because you can't do it alone. Um, we we would call it we live our street is called Saddle Court, and we would call ourselves the Saddle Court care team. And it was like, you know, my mom, his mom, his aunt, me, and then just all of our family and friends that you know would help those four particularly. But um, my siblings, like it, yeah, it was the the support of the care team is very important as well. Um, because there are times when you need a break, and you know, Tyler understood that and needed a break from me sometimes, I'm sure. Don't we all? Yes, but uh yeah, that would be my main thing is you can do it and it'll be the best job you ever have.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I love that. So you mentioned the amazing community that you've had through this journey and that you have right now, and I know that you all are continuing to pool together to honor Tyler's legacy, don't waste a day. So tell me about what you're planning in the spring to help other families that are going through this.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, so we are having a dinner called the Don't Waste a Day Benefit Dinner. And there is a local lady, um, her name is Shelley Donovan. She has been like such a great mentor to me throughout this whole thing. She had lost her husband a few years prior to Tyler getting diagnosed, and she started a charity to honor her husband. Um, and what they do is they basically send ALS families on adventures. So whether it's like they can't travel and they just have like a party at their house or something that they can do. Um, but then they also do like adventures for, you know, handicap accessible adventures as well. So Tyler and I went on a cruise to Alaska through their and we were the first family they ever sent on an adventure, and it was one of the best things we ever did. Just so many amazing memories. The first time Tyler had talked about wanting to help other people was on that trip. We had talked about it at one of our lunches. And so we're teaming up with her. The proceeds are gonna benefit her charity as well as there is a um don't waste a day, Tyler Lang scholarship through Tyler's High School. So both of those very important things that are you know specific to us, dear to our hearts, that we're gonna kind of put the proceeds to. Um, but it's gonna be in April on April 11th, which is Tyler's birthday. Um perfect. In his hometown. So we're we're gonna do that. And like I said, the proceeds are gonna benefit those two amazing things, and we're gonna keep helping other families as much as we can. So where is the event going to take place then? Um, so it is in Portsmouth, Ohio. So his hometown is Wheelersburg, and it's very close to Portsmouth. Yeah. Having it there. There's a um really beautiful venue that we're doing it at, and then we're gonna do, you know, like raffle baskets, silent auction, a dinner, like all that type of stuff. Um really just kind of spread the don't waste a day message. And then the piece that's really beautiful that's the tie-in is the Kevin W. Donovan Foundation, which is where the proceeds are going. They started to put don't waste a day on the back of the t-shirts that the families would wear when they go on these trips. So it was kind of tie like Tyler's message to their message, which is like, you know, living your life fully and that there's so many things that help people with ALS.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:One of the things that families and people don't do is they won't spend money on a vacation. They won't spend money to do something for themselves because they know what's coming. They know that they're gonna spend every single dollar on medical care, on changing their house, on all of these things. So to be able to give families the opportunity to do something that they actually want to do instead of all of these things that they have to do that they don't want to do is just so near and dear to my heart because I feel like the most important thing is making memories with the people that you love. And for us to be able to help more families get to do that is just, you know, a no-strings attached opportunity to do something that they've always wanted to do because this life that they're living is full of, like I said, things that they don't want to do and that they're gonna have to face. And um, yeah, I'm so excited to be able to other families. And I think Tyler would be so proud that they're called Don't Waste a Day Adventure. So yeah. Just the perfect tie-in.
SPEAKER_04:And I love that. I love that. You have a website?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's don't waste aday dot org.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, so to my listeners, I will put a link to don't wastay.org so that you can support if you are not around Fort Smith, Ohio, and then you can attend in person if you are, or you can make a trip. So hopefully I'll be able to attend. Oh my gosh, we would love that. I would love that. Oh my gosh, Melanie, thank you so much for sharing your heart and Tyler's heart and your beautiful Yeah, you're beautiful. Love your story. Like, yeah. You know, at the end of every episode I asked the same thing. So, Melanie, what are you dying to tell us?
SPEAKER_02:I'm dying to tell you to don't waste a day. You have a precious gift every day when you're granted the blessing of opening your eyes. Tyler taught me that. He'd say, I woke up today, so it's a good one. I'm dying to tell you to live your life like Tyler. Every day he woke up smiling despite not being able to move. He couldn't tell me a story, he couldn't eat, he couldn't sing, he couldn't lift up his baby girl. He couldn't tell me that he loved me out loud. He couldn't even breathe on his own. But he woke up every single day with that smile on his face, determined to have a good day. He chose to turn to God to work hard at his faith. He made the decision to be happy, no matter what the day brought. He didn't complain, he was incredibly grateful. I'm dying to tell you to love your spouse. Love your people, hug them tighter, listen to their voice, stay an extra hour to talk, push them to be better, happier, and more grateful people. Live every day like it's the last time you will see them. I think that would make us all a little kinder. I'm dying to tell you that life can be so beautifully simple. If you look at every day you get to wake up as another opportunity to make a difference and focus on the good things in your life.
SPEAKER_04:I'm dying to tell you that you are a blessing.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much. I appreciate you coming on.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you.
SPEAKER_02:And I cannot wait to connect and catch up again. So I appreciate you. I appreciate everything that you're doing for all of us that are going through this. This means so much to us.
SPEAKER_04:Aw, thank you, Han. Oh, thank you again, Melanie. You just really gave us a lot to think about and to put into perspective. And I really appreciate everyone coming back to this second part of my conversation with Melanie. If you missed it, you can go back to the episode right before this, where I talked to Melanie more about how her and Tyler got together, about the ALS diagnosis, and more. I can't tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you for being here, supporting this podcast, and being in this community. If you think of someone that could benefit from my conversation with Melanie, please share the podcast with them. And don't forget I'm gonna put links in the show notes so that you can not only get connected with Melanie, but also support or attend her Don't Waste a Day benefit in April 2026. And I actually just looked up the link to her website, don't wasteaday.org, and I noticed that they have a link under the about tab, and it takes you to an Etsy page, and they have all sorts of really cute merchandise that says don't waste a day. I will put that link in the show notes so that you have it very conveniently to help other people. Thank you for spending your precious time listening in today. And also know you are loved and not alone. Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for listening to our mom. Make sure to visit her website at I'm DyingTotellYouPodcast.com, where you'll find photos and show notes about this episode. If you like the show, please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friend. Thank you.