A man dying of Lou Gehrig's Disease in Nashville is hoping that one of his final wishes might come true. He has been a 'Star Wars fan all of his life but knows he will not be able to see the new one in the theaters.
For Nathan Ashley, 34, of Nashville, his disease has progressed to the point where just about everything in his body no longer works. Ashley has been suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) since the spring of 2013. He and his caretaker, his devoted wife of 5 years, Kathleen, continue to battle on toward the inevitable. One of his final wishes, though, is to see the new Star Wars film, but he knows he would never be able to even get out of bed, never mind get to a theater.
Ashley can’t move. His wife Kathleen must lift him out of bed and move his arms and legs for him. She is there day and night to comfort her husband and to provide for him and give him his medicine, reports USA Today. Kathleen also patiently clears and suctions the tubes that keep her husband breathing and alive. But Nathan has been a die hard Star Wars fan all of his life and laments the terrible fact that he may never get to see the new film which comes to theaters on Dec. 18.
Kathleen remembers that she had rushed out to buy advanced tickets for the new Star Wars film at the local theater. She came home and told Nathan that she had the tickets. Nathan just started crying and revealed that there was no way he was ever going to be able to get out of bed to go to the theater.
There was a time when he could still get into a wheelchair but the progressive killer with no cure doesn’t allow for that anymore. Kathleen and a friend decided to make a video about Nathan’s wish to see the film. She hopes it might take off and go viral to the point where the producers might allow Nathan to watch the film at home. Such a thing is not unprecedented. Hollywood had done such things before.
A man in Texas dying of cancer watched a movie he wanted to see earlier this month that was playing at the theaters. Hollywood arranged it for him to enjoy at home. Two days after seeing the film, he died.
Nathan can still move his eyes and his lips but can’t speak any longer. Kathleen can read his lips. On the bedside table next to Nathan rests a stuffed Yoda doll wearing a Santa hat.
