Heavy: Finding Meaning after a Terminal Diagnosis, A Young Family's First Year with ALS

“There is pain and suffering in this world, but there is also joy, and not just suffering here and joy there, but suffering and joy in the very same place.”Has your world gotten heavy? Are you or someone you love facing an unimaginable loss? Is time divided between “before” and “after?”When Todd Neva saw a neurologist after experiencing weakness in his left arm, he and his wife, Kristin, were blindsided by devastating news: an ALS diagnosis. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neuromuscular disorder that results in total paralysis and eventual death, usually in three to five years. In Heavy you’ll find companions in pain and also companions in joy. An ordinary couple with two young children, once looking ahead to a lifetime of dreams together, Todd and Kristin know how heavy life can get. Their honest story, journeying through the first year after Todd’s diagnosis, shares the perspective of both a person with a terminal diagnosis and a spouse. You will take heart for your own journey as this spirited family perseveres to find meaning, hold on to faith, and discover joy in the midst of pain.

TODD NEVA received a BS in Business and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. He worked in marketing research, finance and manufacturing for sixteen years before becoming disabled. KRISTIN NEVA graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in youth ministry. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, she was a full-time urban youth worker at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. Todd and Kristin were married in 2003 and have two children, Sara and Isaac. They live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.