The Ryan's

The Ryan's

Jon R Miller

Joan Miller

Jon Miller

Jon Miller

Jon R Miller

John & Linda Graham

Anonymous

Jeff, Alison and Noah Dirstine

Rebeca Quezada & Brian Fleischer

Martin and Linda Ferrero

Patricia Waldo

Jon R Miller

Susan Spayth

Bill Ryan JR.

Brian Parrish

Margaret Ann Nail

Brief overview of Susan's life and illness

Susan Spayth lived her life as a champion of children. She worked for over 30 years as a teacher, both in private and public school. She specialized in working with children with special needs, such as autism, learning disabilities, and other health impairments. During her too short time on earth, she touched many lives, of both children and adults.

Susan leaves behind her daughter, Mandy (who is expecting her first child in September) and son-in-law, Michael and her son, Brian and her daughter-in-law, Cindy, the proud parents of eight-month-old triplets, 2 boys and a girl, Zachary, Jackson and Alexis.


Susan first experienced symptoms of ALS in August 2006. Many people assumed she had suffered a stroke, however that was not the case. Her speech was impaired, then gradually improved. However, by July 2007, her speech again declined, never to recover. During that year many tests were run to try to determine what was wrong. Finally, in August 2007 she was referred to a neurologist at USC. There she underwent several tests which confirmed the diagnosis of ALS. She bravely accepted the diagnosis in September 2007, much more bravely than her friends and family.


By October, she had begun using a cane and had pain in her left arm and hand. She was able to continue driving until the beginning of March of 2008. Her mom, Janice, had suffered a serious fall and Susan visited her often in the hospital. Mandy and Michael moved in to be with and care for Susan. When Janice returned and they continued to care for both of them for the next several months until it became necessary to hire additional caregivers. (Currently Janice has blessedly made an excellent recovery from her broken hip and femur.)


During the time from April through August, Susan's symptoms increased quite rapidly. She was losing weight and had a G-tube inserted. Then, she began having difficulty with her head and neck. Her walking became more labored as the summer progressed. It was difficult for her to lie down to sleep and so she spent her days and nights in a custom-made power wheelchair. Throughout all of this her mental functions remained fully intact. This is actually one of the most difficult parts of ALS, I believe, being trapped in your own body. She understood all aspects of her treatment, even while some caregivers did not. She had a sense of humor and was able to give advice even until the end. She loved to text message using her iPhone and many of her friends and family became texting savvy in order to continue to communicate with her as she could not use the phone. During the last six weeks of her life, it was too difficult for her to manage holding the phone to be able to text. Her right hand and arm still worked a little, but her head and neck would not cooperate. She still loved to receive them and her family would read them to her.


Susan loved Las Vegas and playing the slots, watching and listening to the ocean, going to Gladstone's, playing games, photography, gadgets, crafting, shopping, watching TV, reading, gardening and dogs.


Susan enrolled in Hospice care at home on Monday August 18th. Thankfully they were able to make her more comfortable for what turned out to be her last week. Susan passed away Saturday August 23rd with her mother by her side.


Susan was a great lady and her memory will live on forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew and loved her.