White Plains councilman a profile in courage
By SUSAN ELAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: March 14, 2005)

White Plains Councilman Robert Greer wipes beads of sweat from his forehead with a white towel as he winds up a workout that has included 30 minutes on an exercise bike and 20 minutes on a treadmill, and sets of leg presses using 115-pound weights.
"There's no change in my lower body," said Greer, 67, whose condition was diagnosed in January as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable, degenerative neurological disorder often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the Yankees baseball player who died from it in 1941.

Greer, a Democrat who has served on the seven-member council since 1991, announced last week at the board's March meeting that he plans to continue to serve the city as long as his health permits.

Faced with a devastating disease that has already robbed him of strength in his left arm and hand, Greer has made a conscious decision to reject fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness or depression that could poison his enjoyment of the many activities and interests he can still pursue. In addition to continuing to serve the White Plains community, Greer and his wife, Helen, have become advocates for the rare and little-understood disease.

"One thing I have learned is to appreciate today and not to think too much about tomorrow," Greer said. "I don't see any alternative to remaining positive. If I wring my hands over my cruel fate and resign myself to my life being over, I could hasten my own end."

Strenuous workouts at the gym three times a week continue to bring him a sense of satisfaction.

"I'm able to do cardiovascular workouts and lower-body strength exercises like a healthy person," said Greer, who is wearing a tomato-red T-shirt emblazoned with "Cornell 1959" under his navy-blue track suit.

"He's pretty fit and has a great attitude," said John O'Connor, director of the Adult Fitness Center at The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, where Greer now exercises. "He's free to exercise at as vigorous levels as he can tolerate."

Greer switched from a local athletic club to the bright, airy center at Burke for adults over 45 about six months ago, when weakness began plaguing his arms and hands.

The illness began fairly innocuously in January 2004. First, Greer noticed muscle twitches in his arm when he was going to sleep.

"I thought I was working out too much and had strained something," he said. "I didn't pay a lot of attention."

By August, after his return from an intensive summer language program in the south of France, he could no longer ignore the weakness in his left hand and arm. His doctor sent him to a neurologist. A series of tests began, but the results were inconclusive. The neurologist then recommended New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center where ALS research and clinical trials are under way. He began intravenous treatments containing white blood cells to bolster his immune system in November.

The will to believe the treatments were working made him feel better for a short time. By year's end the "placebo effect" had faded. He was losing strength in his right hand as well. He had to stop driving, a milestone he describes as a "pretty big psychological blow."

Today, he can no longer dress or bathe himself without help from his wife or a home health aide. Greer, once the fastest typist in U.S. Army clerical school, now types his correspondence using one finger.

Powerfully built and 6 feet 2 inches tall, he now finds it difficult to bring food from his plate to his mouth. When he drinks he leans his upper body forward and sips from his glass with a straw. He makes the gesture without self-consciousness or self-pity.

Several times every day he must do extension and range-of-motion exercises to keep his left arm and hand supple. To demonstrate how it works, he lifts his limp left arm into his lap using his right hand.

Then he and his wife use a kneading motion to straighten his claw-like left fingers.

"It's painful when they are stretched, but if the muscles aren't used they contract," he explained.

There are voice and breathing exercises to do several times a day as well. ALS has attacked his voice, giving it a gravelly sound and slowing his speech.

"Being from the South, I was never a fast talker, but people began to notice that I was speaking more slowly," joked Greer, who grew up in Louisville, Ky., and came East to attend Cornell University. He received a master's degree in business administration from Harvard in 1963 and retired from MBIA Insurance Corp. as vice president of finance and strategic planning several years ago.

Instead of brooding over the assaults ALS has made on his body, Greer concentrates on the many pleasurable and meaningful activities that fill his days. As a lifelong lover of books, he follows the progress of the children's room construction at the White Plains Library, a project in which he is deeply involved. He is proud of his role in ensuring that the City Center complex got a performing arts center.

"So I can't drive anymore. Big deal," Greer said. "My brain is still unaffected. I am aware of what is going on in the world around me. I can still read. I love music. I enjoy my council job and my grandchildren and family."

The couple are planning some weekend getaways to Manhattan, where they will some attend concerts. They are comforted by the support of friends, neighbors and colleagues who have provided transportation and help with shopping.

Republican Mayor Joseph Delfino, Greer's opponent in the November 2001 race, has personally driven him to some of his medical appointments in Manhattan.

"He's been a terrific friend," Greer said. "He's a Republican and I'm a Democrat, but in the final analysis it doesn't make any difference. We're human beings."

In recent weeks, the pace of deterioration has accelerated.

"In a disease like this it's stable for a while; then all of a sudden you notice things you used to be able to do that you can't do anymore," he said. "When I needed my right hand to lift my left hand, that scared me."

Her husband's ability to cope openly and yet heroically with his fatal illness doesn't surprise Helen Greer.

"A positive attitude is one of your great strengths," she said to him. "It is truly who you are and who you have always been."

The Greers want to locate other families in Westchester County who are grappling with ALS. The nearest support group is in Manhattan, and the prospect of traveling that far is daunting, Helen Greer said. Burke hospital has offered to host a group if one is formed.

Among the many things Robert Greer said he is thankful for are the late onset of the disease and the absence of pain.

"I consider myself fortunate because I'm 67 not 37," he said. "Lou Gehrig was 39 when he was struck by ALS. I had an opportunity to share raising a family, to have a business career, and the opportunity to serve the community. If life had to throw me a curve, I'm lucky it threw this one at this age and not earlier."

Support group information

Anyone interested in forming a Westchester ALS support group may contact Councilman Robert Greer's home office at 914-328-0609.