On Any Given Day

About this book

In 1994 Joe was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Lou Gehrigs disease. The doctors told him his life would be over in twenty months or less. Joe told himself: Just live. He decided that he would recover if not from the disease then from the diagnosis. No doctor could predict what might be accomplished on any given day. This is the story of a man who was successful by every measure -- a pillar of his church and community a top executive of his company the father of three children. Using the resources at hand Joe fashioned a credo combining the words of the psalmist and of baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. "This is the day the Lord has made. Get up go to the ballpark and do your very best". Joe Martins best has been nothing short of spectacular. Having built a career as the acknowledged "conscience" of Bank of America Joe took on the sponsorship of a program to organize low-income neighborhoods for greater political and economic clout a year after his "death sentence". He helped start one of the Southeasts leading centers for ALS research and treatment. In Charlotte North Carolina he played a leading role in overturning a county government that threatened to rip apart his community along a religious fault line. For anyone whos been tempted to stop hoping this book gives hope and possibilities. Its a blueprint for making the best out of every day one day at a time. Its a book too about and for caregivers. Joes wife Joan leads a strong supportive cast. Family friends and young assistants learn to redefine caregiving through commitment to sustain dignity through love. And for those who imagine American business to be an impersonal profit machine think again. No matter how severe ones disability it is the value of the individual that powers corporate success.