Whitney Hope- Spotlight Story

After being diagnosed in late 1979 with an illness he'd never heard of, Ed Mc Neill sought a second opinion. In early 1980 a top neurologist at Columbia Hospital in NY announced to Charlotte, Ed's wife, "Your husband has two, maybe three, years to live." She was left to tell Ed he'd contracted the malady that famed baseball player, Lou Gehrig, died of in the early 40's -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

ALS is a neuro-degenerative disorder that results in muscle wasting, paralysis and death in short order. However, British physicist\ author Stephen Hawking has had it for about 40 years (one of the lucky? less than 1%). If you've seen pictures of Hawking, you'll understand how crippling ALS is; on the other hand, if you've read his work, you'll understand that the mind is left untouched.

In Ed Mc Neill's case, he continued working as Corporate Secretary of the American Spice Trade Association until February 1982 when he retired on disability. By this time, weakness, speech and walking difficulties were progressing rapidly, so he began to arrange his affairs to prevent problems for Charlotte and their three daughters.

Then the wait began. ALS was the first thing he thought about upon waking and the last thing before falling asleep. He waited, waited and waited some more, but the inevitable didn't happen. What happened was more conspicuous weakness, speech and walking difficulties. To take his mind off his health problem and to try to make himself useful, he decided to help his two older daughters prepare themselves for the SAT's and get into college. It was a successful venture in two ways, he forgot about his ALS, and the girls eventually went off to college.

In 1986, with his remaining daughter about to enter high school, the family moved from New Jersey to Southern California for financial reasons and the weather. Shortly after moving, Ed was forced to use a wheelchair. The disease began again to occupy his mind constantly. He had to find a new diversion. In 1989, now ten years into this terminal illness, he decided to write a novel. He'd wanted to write a novel ever since a college English professor paid him an backhanded compliment about a short story he'd written by saying, "Good story, if you wrote it."

Almost from the start, Ed's hands didn't function well enough to type; eventually he couldn't write with a pencil. In late 1989, still looking deceptively healthy although with greatly restricted movement, he invested in a computer and began typing a novel with one finger. He never expected to finish it, but at least it would take his mind off the ALS.

Once more an active mind seemed to cause a slow down in the disease's course. After 1-1\2 years of pecking, he had written 760 double-spaced pages -- the novel was finished. The National Writers Association's reviewer called the story, a "barnburner" but declined to send it to its list of agents because "No publisher would handle so lengthy a novel from an unknown." Next he wrote a shorter novel covering an event in WWII. He continued pecking and finished a third and fourth novel with several more in progress. At present, he has ideas for at least 20 more novels.

None of his four completed books have been published. He says he cannot afford to expend the energy or tolerate the frustration it would take to find an agent or publisher. The search would eat into his writing time which is limited to, at most, three hours a day.

He figures writing, researching and general involvement in the process will delay what now seems less inevitable because, apparently, his disease has stopped progressing. While he awaits a cure, he will continue writing novels. He says, "Writing frees me from the shackles of ALS allowing me to go vicariously wherever I want, do whatever I want, and be whoever I want." And, he adds, "That's something few people are lucky enough to experience."

Ed has a diverse background: Broadway stagehand; department store supervisor; advertising and public relations copywriter; partner in a small ad agency; executive in two different associations; and the position of which he is most proud, U. S. Marine company commander.

During his active years, he conversed with many notables, including: a U. S. president, a British prime minister, the Texas governor who rode in the car with JFK the day he was killed, numerous board chairmen and presidents of our largest firms, many actors and actresses and just plain folks all over the world.

Ed holds two degrees, a BA in English from the University of Dayton, and an MBA in marketing from Edward Williams College, Fairleigh Dickinson University.

By the way, Ed has now lived to witness the college graduations and weddings of two daughters and is a proud grandfather of 7 and 4 year old grandsons. One thing he regrets living to see was the death of his second born daughter in 1994. He calls it, "An experience vastly more devastating then 23 years with ALS."

Ed Mc Neill feels there's a non-fiction book to be written about all this, and he will write it the moment he is cured.

Ed is currently looking for a publisher for his completed books.

For more information about Ed Mc Neill and sample chapters of his books, visit his website at: www.EJMcNeill.com.