Advance Reviews
“Chris writes with grace. And from what I can tell, he has lived with grace despite the pain, heartache and indignities of his cruel disease. His story of a life awfully altered, and yet so purposefully lived is deeply touching. Every page is a moving reminder of the meaning of the human spirit.”
— Bob Costas, long-time sportscaster, media host and author
“Honest, moving story of how one family and their community changed the world of ALS and healthcare advocacy. Chris and Christine share deep life lessons that can help all of us, no matter the circumstances. A must read!”
— Merit Cudkowicz, MD, Chief of Neurology Massachusetts General Hospital; Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology Harvard Medical School
“This is a wonderful memoir written by a man with the greatest spirit and commitment. In the face of such unexpected and devastating adversity, a diagnosis of ALS, Chris Pendergast shows us how a committed and kind human being can change the world- from friends, to patients then on to researchers that he touched and who had the opportunity to get to know. His writings allow us all to glimpse into the man behind this valuable, compassionate mission. Good luck with the book!”
— Jeffrey D. Rothstein MD, PhD, The John W. Griffin Director of the Brain Science Institute; Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience; Director, Robert Packard Center for ALS Research, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
“Chris Pendergast is an American treasure. His courage and grace in the face of adversity is truly heroic. His passion for education has always been his trademark as he has made an indelible mark on the fight to find a cure for ALS. For more than two decades, he’s inspired me and thousands of others. I recommend that you read about his journey because he will inspire you, too.”
— David Cone, former Major League Baseball pitcher, current commentator for the New York Yankees
Blink Spoken Here
Blink Spoken Here
Tales from a Journey to Within
Dr. Christopher Pendergast
& Christine Pendergast
Copyright © 2020 by Christopher Pendergast & Christine Pendergast
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher (except by reviewers who may quote brief passages).
First Edition
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-62720-256-5
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62720-257-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62720-258-9
Printed in the United States of America
Acquisitions & editing by Isabella De Palma
Cover design by Chelsea McGuckin
Promotion plan by Isabella De Palma
Published by Apprentice House Press
Apprentice House Press
Loyola University Maryland
4501 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210
410.617.5265
www.ApprenticeHouse.com
Dedication
We dedicate this book to each other. Elvis Presley prophetically crooned our wedding song in his smash release, The Wonder of You. Indeed, we gave each other consolation, hope and strength to carry on.
We were fortunate to have met and loved one another. We both agree, we blessed the day we found “us” as the Everly Brothers sang in the hit, Let It Be Me.
Our marriage brought two kind, compassionate and productive children, Melissa and Christopher, who have been there for us from the beginning. Our grandson Patrick brought renewed gratitude and joy.
This story is a testament to our commitment, resilience and love in the face of adversity.
Foreword
by Jonathan Eig
I once tried to imagine what Lou Gehrig would have said if he had been healthy enough in 1939 to travel to Cooperstown, New York, for his induction in baseball’s Hall of Fame. I visualized him saying these words that I wrote:
It is a wonderful honor to gain induction today to the Baseball Hall of Fame and to join the pantheon of great athletes and great men who have come before me. This game of baseball has meant everything to me, as it has so many boys. It took me and my family out of poverty. It taught me to be a man. I’m proud that I played hard and that the Yankees won a lot of ballgames and our share of World Series with me at the first sack. I’m proud I hit the ball square and sometimes far. I’m proud that I played fair. I’m proud that I showed my opponents the same respect I showed my own teammates. I’m proud I gave it my all every time I grabbed a bat or slipped on a glove.
But I guess if there’s one thing above all else that I’m proud of, one thing that made me who I am today and got me to the Hall of Fame, it would be this: strength.
Yes, strength. You see, I was a poor kid, a little on the pudgy side. I didn’t have much confidence in myself. My mother loved me so much she didn’t want to ever let me leave the house. I had three siblings who died, and I was her last hope. So I grew up shy and nervous. I never thought I would amount to much. But my father, he taught me the value of exercise, and soon I started packing on muscle. I was the biggest and strongest kid on the block, and then I was the biggest and strongest kid in high school, and after that in college. And I began to believe in myself. To walk into a clubhouse and see Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel and Waite Hoyt wearing Yankee uniforms and welcoming you to the club, boy, you’d better believe in yourself. That’s the first thing I tell kids today when they ask me how to be a ballplayer. I tell them it’s not about how you swing the bat or grip the ball. First thing you have to do is believe. Second thing you have to do is work hard. If you do those things, even if you don’t amount to much of a ballplayer, you’re going to be OK.
Me, I turned out to be a pretty fair ballplayer. I have a lot of people to thank for that, including my parents, my beautiful wife, my coaches, my teammates, the owners of the Yankees, and, of course, the fans. You probably heard that I gave a speech at Yankee Stadium when I found out I was sick…that I was…dying…I said I considered myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Well, I wasn’t saying I was lucky to get this disease, this amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nobody’s lucky to get sick. I was saying I was lucky to have had a good life, lucky to have parents and a wife who love me, lucky to have played baseball. Mostly, I guess I was lucky to be strong. But here’s what I’ve learned, now that this disease has got me behind in the count no balls and two strikes: I learned that it’s not really muscles that make you strong. I learned that it’s how you face a challenge—like how my parents faced the challenge of losing three kids, or how my wife is facing the challenge of losing me…
I hit some balls pretty hard in my day, and I suppose that did take a kind of strength. But hitting a baseball doesn’t make a man a hero. There are a whole lot of people out there as sick as I am, people with ALS and all kinds of other diseases. They’re not giving up. They’re meeting every day head on, still swinging for the fences with everything they’ve got.
To fight on through disaster, to dedicate your final days to the loved ones you will soon leave behind, and to believe in yourself when you have nothing left but that will to believe…that is the greatest strength I know.
Thank you.
As Lou Gehrig’s biographer, I feel a responsibility to speak up for