Rob Hanson is loosing his battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease!

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I was reading one of Vaughn's post and saw his sig about Rob and was totally shocked about this!!!!. Rob was one of my 1st TDR friends even though he was 3000 miles away. We talked all the time thru PM's on aol, and invited me to fly out to stay with him and convoy to BD dyno days one year. As I write this I am deeply sadden by the pasting of one of the greatest person I ever met. I don't think Rob knew how to be selfish as he was one of the most giving person I ever met. I pray for his wife and daughter. Rob you will be greatly missed!!!!!!!!!!! JB
 
I am saddened to see that Rob has lost his fight with this terrible disease,but,take comfort in knowing that he is in a much better place free from pain. My thoughts go out to the Hanson family in their time of need... ... ... ... ... Andy
 
Man, I'm floored here. I had no idea Rob was ill.



Rob was definately one of the best. You couldn't ask for a nicer guy. He did more for the diesel community than anyone I know. It was guys like Rob and his BOMBing parties that made me wish I lived up there in the NW.



God Bless Rob and his family. They are in my thoughts.
 
Rob is the one that introduced me into the "BOMBing Club"



A better man I will never meet.



He will never be forgotten :)
 
someone I've never known...................

... ... ... but the pain is real none the less. My Sister-in-Law and my Mother passed away already this year. My Mother-in-Law (jokes aside) has 6 weeks to live according to her Doc's with her battle with cancer.



... ... ... . and now another I've never known has succumbed to the evils of this system of things.



according to the Bible (Isa. 33:24) there will be a time in which everyone will be as God originally intended for his creation:



... ... ... ... ... . And no resident will say: "I am sick" !



our prayers and Love go out to all those dealing with the loss of a loved one !
 
Perhaps I shouldn't post this until I have 100% clarification, but I do believe that Rob was originally diagnosed with ALS, but then found out through blood tests that he had Lyme disease instead. I know for a fact that Rob had Lyme disease, but I don't know if he also had ALS. People with Lyme disease are often misdiagnosed with having ALS because the symptoms are similar. This is what Rob told me at his February bomb party. He said that it was his dentist that suggested he have a blood test done for Lyme disease. There is some certain test where they look at the blood under a microscope to verify the existance of the disease. Rob had been dealing with the Mayo Clinic, and they didn't want to do this test, so he had some blood shipped to some lab in Florida, and they found the disease. Rob later told me in an e-mail that he later got to look at his blood sample under a microscope, and he could see these little worms crawling around. Lyme disease is cured by using some very powerful antibiotics, and Rob said at his party that most of the time, if it is caught early enough, patients make a 100% recovery. At his party in February, Rob was very optimistic that he'd recover. But, apparantly, by the time he began the proper treatment once the disease had been diagnosed, the disease had caused too much damage to his system.



I learned a bit about Lyme disease from talking to Rob. Here are two things to remember and keep in mind for yourselves and your families:

1. Most of the time, when you hear about Lyme disease, they say it's from getting bit by deer ticks. It has been proven that you can also get Lyme disease from mosquito bites and other insect bites, too.

2. The symptoms of Lyme disease mimic the symptoms of ALS and other diseases, so it is often misdiagnosed. According to what Rob told me, the only way to properly check for the disease is to have a lab look at the blood under a microscope.



Andy
 
I haven't been around the NW Bombers or this site as much lately, and this news was a total shock, Rob was full of life, and relatively young, this is so sad. I have known Rob and his wife and daughter since I bought my truck in 2000, this is a tough loss. Jan and Bridgete as well as the rest of the family will be in my prayers.



SHG
 
Shelby Griggs said:
I haven't been around the NW Bombers or this site as much lately, and this news was a total shock, Rob was full of life, and relatively young, this is so sad. I have known Rob and his wife and daughter since I bought my truck in 2000, this is a tough loss. Jan and Bridgete as well as the rest of the family will be in my prayers.



SHG



Shelby,

Good to see your still around! Come see us on the NWBombers!
 
Very very very sad news. I had never met Rob in person but felt he was a true friend. I would instant message with him not only talking about trucks but everything else in life. The world has lost a very fine man. My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy goes out to Jan and the family.



Paul Krueth
 
To add to what Andy posted, Rob went to many doctors in the Seattle area, at least 10, and it was a frustrating & discouraging experience because no one could give him answers to what was going on and got conflicting diagnoses.



The first symptom Rob had was one day he started having trouble with his left hand. It felt tight and he couldn't extend it and had some pain. I don't recall when this was, I think it was spring last year? Didn't think it was any big deal but it wouldn't go away and the docs couldn't figure out what was going on.



Over time it got worse and started affecting his arm. Last September when I saw him he was starting to lose some use of it because of stiffness and loss of strength, and that's when I started to get a little concerned.



I didn't see Rob again until the next January and the disease had really taken a toll by then. At this point he had minimal use of his left arm and only about 50% of his right arm, and had difficulty getting around.



It wasn't long after this the Lyme diagnosis was made and treatment started. The progression of symptoms pretty much stopped at this point. While he made gains in some respects there were setbacks too, but he was holding his own quite well and several months went by with a lot of hope and optimism he was going to beat this. Recently he started getting treatment in Chico California in a hyperbaric chamber.



Rob and Jan came home every 2-3 weeks for the weekend and made the last trip up over July 4th, and Rob was doing about the same. But as I understand it, it was when they got back to Chico last week he suddenly took a turn for the worse. . .



Rob had a tremendous sense of humor and put the best spin possible on his challenges. He never gave up, and he fought this thing as hard as he could right up to the very end.



Rob loved all his NW Bomber buddies, and one of his favorite activities was hanging out on the board and posting. The last post he made was number 15,815, on June 29th. In the end he was literally using a pen in his mouth to punch out his words on the keyboard.



Vaughn
 
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Vaughn,



Just for clarification you have the arms reversed. His right arm was the first to be affected.



I might add, Rob always keep a positive attitude. He micro managed his health condition and anything that was positive he responded well to it. When I talked with him on the phone every couple of weeks, he always told me he was improving. Rob never gave up! In his mind, he was improving.



From January to April this year, I had seen Rob in person at least 4 times, unfortunately each time his condition was worst. The last time I was there in April for BD Dyno Days, his Mother and Sister were there. Ruby, his mother talked with me outside about his health. She knew that I had seen him on several occasions since January and wanted to know what I had seen and what I thought. We both comfirmed what we had been seeing. At this time, Rob could not walk or stand without assistance. There are a lot more detail, however they don't need to be gone into.



The final stages of ALS effect your swallowing and breathing. Rob was on a ventilator in a coma before his passing.
 
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