Start of 2025

The year of 2025 has been so far an interesting on at that. In January we left on the 1st and got to FL on the 2nd. On our way down before we got on 95 we ended up tearing our camper/rv awning. Getting down to FL was crazy and weird in it self because of not having my grandfather with us. But we made it work. February we shared his birthday, March came and went. Not before having medical issues and another seizure. Also new weight loss journey with new meds to help and the sickness from that. Finally April has come and lots of fun things plan already down 11. 7 lbs but not sure how much longer on the meds. Might have to come back with being on the low dose and staying on that. That's all for these 3 months. 

Year of 2024

A Reflection on the Year 2024

As we approach the end of 2024, it's hard not to look back on the past 12 months and think about everything that has happened. From personal triumphs and celebrations to unexpected tragedies and losses, it has been a rollercoaster of a year.

It all started with a trip to Florida in January. Little did we know that this would be the last time we would drive across the Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD. Just 13 weeks later, the bridge would collapse due to a ship hitting it. It was a shocking event that left our community in shock and disbelief.

In February, we celebrated my grandfather's 98th birthday. We were so grateful to have him in our lives and couldn't imagine ever losing him. But just 5 months later, in August, we said goodbye to him. It was a heartbreaking loss, but we were thankful for all the memories and time we had with him.

In March, my father took a fall. We're still not sure exactly what happened, but we believe he may have had a stroke or something similar. It was a scary time for our family as we watched him struggle with his health.

April brought another loss - this time, our neighbor's beloved fur baby Carlos passed away from cancer. It was a difficult time for our community as his presence was greatly missed. Little did we know that just 5 months later, we would also lose our own fur baby.

Losing my best friend's father in April was another blow. He had survived a major car accident back in 2008, but unfortunately, his health deteriorated over the years. His passing was a reminder to cherish every moment with our loved ones and never take them for granted.

My birthday in May was bittersweet as we were dealing with my father's health issues and my mother's MS complications. There was no big celebration, but we were grateful to have each other during this challenging time.

In June, we went through a trip from hell trying to get home with my father unable to walk and the Key Bridge being gone. This also included another episode at my church in MD on Father's Day. On top of that, it was our elementary school's 100 Centennial celebration. It was difficult to fully enjoy the milestone with so much going on.

July brought a heatwave from hell and our neighbor's mega 4th of July party with fireworks. We were amazed at how they managed to put on such a grand celebration despite the hot weather.

But August was a particularly tough month for us. We witnessed the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a PA rally and lost my grandfather on the same day. It was also the same day that the Key Bridge collapsed and Carlos passed away, making it a triple loss for our family. And to add to the heartache, it was also my grandfather's mother's birthday. It was a day filled with mixed emotions and sadness.

September was a month filled with planning for my grandfather's memorial in the spring. It was important for us to have a big celebration so that all of our friends and family could be a part of it. We were blessed to have had so much time with him and to be able to go on one last bike ride together, something we never thought we would do.

October brought a college reunion with friends, and we are already planning for a bigger one next year that I will be hosting. It was also the start of bonfire season, which brought some much-needed warmth and coziness as we gathered around the fire with loved ones.

In November, President Trump won once again in the presidential race. It was a bittersweet moment as we celebrated his victory but also felt sad that my grandfather couldn't be here to witness it. However, we know that he has the best seat in heaven to watch over us.

As November came to an end, December brought a mix of emotions. I had my next MS infusion. As Christmas approached, we were busy preparing for our annual trip down to Florida for the next six months. It's become a tradition for us to escape the cold winter months and spend them in a warmer climate. Packing up our lives and heading down south has its challenges, but it's always worth it in the end. We were ready for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

As I reflect on the year 2024, I am amazed at how much has happened in just 12 short months. It has been a year filled with highs and lows, but through it all, we have learned to cherish every moment with our loved ones and never take them for granted. Here's to hoping that the next year brings more joy and fewer challenges for all of us. Cheers to 2025!

Fall 2024

It's been 6 weeks since the fall of 2024 started and it's been amazing. In October we had our first bonfire with my sister and her boyfriend and their friends and Today I had a college reunion with 2 girls who were my dorm mates in college. Now we are planning for a full reunion in september of 2025 with the rest of the group that couldn't be there during this time. I cant wait. This will also be in time for my annual update with my MS which will be done with another post.  I also think at the end of the year I will be add a page with the full review with everything that has happened for the year of 2024. This post will be a quick post. 

Losing your best friend- Preview so far of 2024

 Hi, 

It's been forever since I posted a lot of blogs. This year has been crazy in itself. Where do I begin, In January we left for Florida for the next 6 months little did we know that 13 weeks later this would be the last time we drove over the bridge as in March 26th of this year the key bridge was destroyed but then again we are kind of getting a head of ourselves. February we celebrated my grandfathers 98th birthday once again who would have know that 5 months later in August that we would lose him which is what this post is about but before i get into it more, I have more to go on with through this year, March he fell and we believe then that he had a stroke because in April and May he continued to go down hill. Also in March as I wrote above was the bridge collapse and the impact that we still feel today. April we lost our neighbors dog Carlos also little did we know 5 months later that we would lose the other dog Shadow. This also included my best friend's father who passed away after surviving a almost tragic car accident in November 2008. May brought my birthday, Mothers day and a trip to the hospital/trauma center with lights and sirens due to MS issues which becomes interesting cause a month later the same thing happens but not at severe as what happen in May. June brought us barley making it home from Florida after an eventful trip with trying to get my grandfather in the camper after loosing his arms and legs from his possible stroke and him being in so much pain coming home not mention the day we get home and trying to figure out how we are going to get him out with just us or whether or not us calling 911 for a lift assist but was able to get his neighbors to kind of help us in getting him in the wheel chair and into the house which was the start of a long 5 months of ups and downs with him and getting hospice involved. It also brought our elementary 100 year Centennial celebration and being able to see all my old teachers and students that I used to hang out with. July came with miserable heat well the whole summer did a 4th of July party, and once again many ups and downs with my grandfather. August was nothing but a miracle in itself between the continuing down fall of my grandfather until his passing at the end of the month to the attempted assassination of Trump at PA rally. The day he passed was the same day as the key bridge collapsed in march and carlos death in April but what was more interesting was that this day August 26th was his mothers birthday my great grandmothers birthday. Now rolls September the funeral of pops which couldn't have been better even though we didn't really do a viewing full funeral that will be mention sometime in the spring of next year when we do a buge memorial service in honor of him which will be interesting between who is all going to be invited or come I know with the people I wanted to invite which is some of my church family who got to meet him over the last couple of summers after having to make shirts and more for parades and other events. To people from our community who saw me post or his obituary and had text me about funeral arrangements. So I'm looking at maybe 100 or so if not 70 people showing up or coming and going.  Im going to miss him. It's been 3 weeks since hes been gone and I still want to call him ect, funny moments with him looking back and know im so bless this year before he started to go down hill was the fact that i normally dont ride with him in FL and I did for those last 3 months until he couldn't do it any more. Im sure this will be a part 2 to this blog as the rest of the months of this year goes by 

Certainly Unknown

Hi guys, 

Wow where do I begin. I know I said I would do another blog to finish the year in review of this year. But one thing has come to my mind the uncertainty of the unknown with my MS. Yesterday I had my annual MS screening with an MRI to see if the treatment is working. As you know this month is September the month of 9/11 as well as my 2nd anniversary of me being diagnosed with MS on the same day. Well I got my results back and did I review of last year's and this year's and it looks like I have gain 41 new lesions since last year. So with that said I'm sad to admit that i went from going to RRMS to SPMS and will continue to decline. I'm still trying to understand this while still coming to terms with MS which I still haven't even after 2 years ago and now this. But my faith is strong and I look at this once again early setback. 

This is the 2nd part of the post instead of going and writing another post of the same thing. As of this morning Friday 20th 2024. I finally got the MRI report that explains whats going on but still is complicated  cause its different to both MS reports that have been given through the MRI scans one is saying 25/16 while the other one is saying 27+4 and 10. But what I do know is there are new lesions and that nerve to my left eye has continued to diminished which means the swelling and so forth has been continuing on since this last attack and is getting worse every time I have an attack.  Like I said I will continue to keep updated on these reports as it comes in and this is good not only to keep you guys updated but my self to look back and see all the good and bad moments of my life. Also once again I can't say for certain that this is what this is without seeing him and getting the confirmation that I need to help me understand all of it. But at this moment it looks like I've been having these flairs for a while now. My next apt with him is at the end of next month. I was hoping it would be earlier because of what I'm seeing and the report but i guess its not really concerning as of this moment. 

Trunk or Treat

Our annual fall fest trunk or treat I have been with the church for 15 years being doing it for 10 years. This years theme was Hocus Pocus from Disney. I will post some of the pics from this year and previous years. 

These 2 were from this year 2023 

2015 or 2016 

2021

My MS Journey

It's been a while probably almost 3 years since I posted and a year since I updated with the 2022 health scare that turn into me being dignosed with MS or Multiple Sclerosis. Since then everything has been pretty good. Still learning about my new dignosed but also celebrated my 1 year of it this past September. I did have my first spell with this one of the issues with mine is heat and cold intolerance where I can't be in the heat because I don't realized I'm cooking myself and same with the cold where I look possessed due to spasms in my body by the cold. I have so much to be thankful for and can't wait for Thanksgiving. With that being said I'm due next week to have my next infusion for the MS. But on a good note when I had my updated MRI it seemed like the meds were working and they were shrinking well one of the big ones I had but now I have a new issue with my cardic stand point. The good news is that they were worried for a TAAA or triple A but they have rule that out for now or so we think but when they did the CT the found some mod-severe narrowing in the aorta from where I had the corartation of the aorta surgery 30 years ago as a baby. They want me to come back to do extended testing including an echo to check if I will need to have surgery or just wait another 2 years or so. So that is the up date for now. I have one more to add for October. I'm going to try to update these at lease once a month if I can.