My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 073022

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Saturday, July 30. It’s going to be a partly cloudy day in Dallas today with a high of 93 degrees. Yes, we are getting a tiny break from the 100 degree weather, but just for today. Tomorrow we jump right back up there.

Happy Birthday to:

Charla Reiter Montgomery

Happy Saturday, everyone. I slept pretty hard last night. After my PLEX and all the tests and disappointing news, I took a little time to be angry, pissed off and angry (I know I already said angry, but it bares repeating) - just to get it out of my system.

I considered having a cocktail or two, but I was so tired after PLEX that I would just fall asleep early. And what’s the point of letting yourself be angry and pissed off and falling asleep. It’s like going to Target and buying a trash can and carrying it home in a plastic bag…and when you get home you put the plastic bag in the trash can. It makes no sense. And I needed to get it out of my system.

So I was angry, pissed and disappointed for a while and then I went to bed - I only woke up once but I went right back to sleep. I am better this morning.

After I got the lymphocyte results yesterday, my nurses (whom I love) could easily see the disappointment in my face. I couldn’t leave the room because I had tubes going into my chest and my left arm - pulling out my blood, cleaning it and putting it back in with new plasma. So I had to lie there and that really sucked.

Bless’em - they did every thing and said everything they could to make the situation better, and we did eventually laugh about it, but they said I need to be happy because being happy does something and it will increases something else and blah, blah blah, yadda, yada, yada… I stopped listening at, “you need to be happy”. That’s where they lost me.

So, my goal today is to be happy and not dwell on a low lymphocyte count, the feeling that a recession is looming over the economy, the war in the Ukraine, people who carry trash cans home in a plastic bag and then put the plastic bag in the trash can when they get home or anyone wearing capri pants, berets or shorts with cowboy boots (no one looks good in any of that).

Today is Happy Saturday. I have nothing planned. I am going to relax, perhaps run a few errands, enjoy the temperature below 100 degrees and see what Happy Saturday has in store.

Anyhoozle, what are your plans for Happy Saturday?

Whatever they may be, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072922

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Friday, July 29. It’s going to be a partly cloudy day in Dallas today with a high of 100 degrees.

Happy Birthday to:

Becca Wheeler

Loni Reynolds

Patrick Ruedin

Happy Friday! Happy FriYAY! TGIF! And Happy Weekend! It’s finally here. We made it through another week - the last one of July 2022. On Monday, August casts her spell and we will be bombarded with 31 days of ‘Back to School’, the ramp up for college football, fall television programming and tiny thoughts of Thanksgiving and Christmas will begin to sneak into your brain.

My focus is on today. I will be making my way to the UT Southwestern Spa and Resort at the crack of dawn for some:

1) blood work - gotta see if my lymphocyte level is up to at lease 800 from 600 so I can have chemotherapy next week.

2) urinalysis - gotta see if my kidneys/bladder are good to go for another round of chemotherapy next week.

3) plasma exchange or PLEX - gotta get rid of these hateful antibodies my body produces and hopefully reduce any inflammation as well.

4) purchase the Megamillions billon dollar jackpot winning ticket(s) - gotta get my numbers today, not at the hospital but in route to or from. I could - we all could - use that money. I already have plans for it - stem cell therapy so that I may go into remission and a cheeseburger from the Angry Dog. I’ve been craving one from there but getting around town is not really my forte at the moment.

I have some ideas of what to do with the rest of my winnings after stem cell therapy and the cheeseburger, but first things first. LOL

Anyhoozle, what are your weekend plans?

Whatever they may be, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of Kind people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072822

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Thursday, July 28. It’s going to be a mostly sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 102 degrees.

Happy Birthday to:

Julie Thomas

Shari Smoak Propst

Happy Friday Eve. It’s almost the weekend - just one more day. I get my blood work done tomorrow to see if my lymphocyte level is high enough so that I may have chemotherapy next week. GEEZ - Can someone please tell me why I am more excited about my lymphocyte level and getting chemotherapy next week than I am tomorrow is Friday and Pay Day?

My world does not make sense any more - not one bit. It’s like up is down and left is green.

But I sure am thankful for what I do have and the things I do understand - my family, friends who are family, an understanding boss and co-workers, my church familys and last but not least…..

The Real Housewives of Dubai. Did you see that tragic, hot mess last night? The arrogance, the decadence, the opulence, the obliviousness, the conceit - OMG - half of me wants to help defuse the situations because they are clearly incapable of anything but being selfish and a bit deficient. But the other half wants to be besties with a few of them and purposefully stir the pot and sit back on my couch with a cocktail and a bowl of popcorn and watch it play out. LOL - but that would be wrong :)

Just one meeting on my schedule today - I hope it stays that way!

What’s on your Thursday schedule?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072722

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Wednesday, July 27. It’s going to be a sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 102 degrees. Happy Birthday to: Alyssa Milhouse Williams Cathy Harrison Graves Ruben Viveros It’s HUMP DAY! We made it half way through the week. I cannot believe July 2022 is almost in the books as well. That means in a few weeks……SCHOOL ZONES, SCHOOL BUSES AND FREQUENT STOPS ON THE WAY TO WORK RETURNS. LOL That’s OK - to me it just signals that Fall is right around the corner. Of course, here in Texas, Fall happens between October 15 at 2pm and lasts until October 15 at 2:10pm. If you blink you will miss it so go ahead and put it on your calendar now. Please Note: That date and time is subject to change depending on how cranky Mother Nature is this year. On the MS from: My neuropathy has been almost non-existent for nearly a month. It pops up in my legs ponce in a while (but only from my knees down) just to keep me in check and show me who is running this dog and pony show, but for the most part, it has remained dormant. Thank you chemotherapy. As much as it sucks, it is a blessing. Now - if I can just get my legs working, that would be wonderful. Not much on my calendar today - just a few meetings and lots of work in between. What’s on your Wednesday schedule? Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one! Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ #strengthpatiencepeacefaith #hopelovejoygrace #AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072622

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Tuesday, July 26. It’s going to be a mostly sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 103 degrees.

Happy Birthday to:

Paul Noe

Well, I thought I would be headed to the infusion center to get pumped full of poison for four hours but plans have changed. My Neurologist called yesterday evening and said my lymphocyte count was too low (600) fo chemotherapy so we are postponing round #2 until next week. It needs to be somewhere in the 800-1000 range.

Am I disappointed? Yes and no. Yes, because chemotherapy seems to be working. And no, because I will not miss how sick and nauseous it makes me.

So I guess I will have a full day at work and that’s OK too. So, I better get crack’in.

What’s on your Tuesday schedule?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072522

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Monday, July 25. It’s going to be another sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 102 degrees.

No birthdays on my calendar today.

Well, it’s Monday morning and time to kick off another work week. This week will bring July 2022 to a close. August will kick off next Monday, back to school ‘stuff’ will be thrust upon us until September 1 when we will be made to believe it’s already Christmas. I swear last year, I saw a Christmas commercial in September. But I digress…

Last Monday, we were preparing to leave the Big Apple and head back to Dallas. We had such a wonderful trip. Great shows, food, and best of all, incredible people to share it with. There is no way I would have made it the entire week in my chair without my friends - and I know now that going on vacation takes a great deal more planning and preparation than even I had done.

From making sure the hotel room, Broadway theaters and restaurants were accessible to just getting around the city, no way I could have done it alone my first time out. Sure, a lot of those things took phone calls and emails to confirm, but I am so glad I did it. I have a better idea of what to plan for now.

As nervous as I was about this trip, I was comforted by the big, red HOPE sign which stood across the street from our hotel. It set the tone (for me) at the beginning of the trip that everything was going to be fine. And on the final day, I sat outside the hotel drinking my coffee and watching/listening to a delightful little thunderstorm passing through the city. You know I love a good non-destructive thunderstorm, and to me, this signaled the end of a fantastic vacation that I got to share with the best of friends. It was a blessing.

I started this adventure with HOPE and it turned into a BLESSING!

Just a few meetings on my work schedule today - and a trip to the hospital for more blood work. My neurologist wants to make sure something is at a higher level (I have no idea what) before chemotherapy tomorrow. YAY CHEMO (he said, unconvincingly).

What’s on your Monday schedule?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072422

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Sunday, July 24. It’s going to be another sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 96 degrees - a small break from the 100’s.

No birthdays on my calendar today.

So Sunday - Last Sunday - it was our final full day in NYC which we usually celebrate as Sunday Funday. We met for brunch at Vida Verde but our guest list included a very special guest from home (SC home not TX home) - my good friend Adrienne McKeown came in from New Jersey to have lunch with us. Most of my close friends have known Adrienne for years and seen her with me when she was in ‘The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway. We usually get her for a day of fun, gabbing and catching up every time we come to NYC.

Lunch was great and then the day was filled with sitting outside on the ‘patio’ of a few places people watching and enjoying an afternoon beverage. The weather was absolutely perfect for being outside.

We ended the day with burgers followed by packing our suitcases for our return to our lives in Texas, Colorado and Illinois. All in all, another 5 Possum Day!

Not too terribly much on my calendar today - church, lunch with some friends and then probably chill’n. Chemotherapy is looming over my head so I need to prepare for that (buy gatorade, chicken broth, crackers - that kind of stuff) - hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

What’s on your Sunday schedule?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072322

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Saturday, July 23. It’s going to be a sunny day in Dallas today with a high of 102 degrees. YAY - more heat (he said sarcastically).

Happy Birthday to:

Brian Scott Pitcher

It’s the weekend. It may be hotter than dogs balls outside, but it is Saturday, and that’s a good thing.

Last Saturday in NYC, it was a delightful 80 degrees. We had most of the morning free but around 11am, we left mid-town Manhattan and traveled to Brooklyn to meet some friends for brunch/lunch. I forget the name of the restaurant, but the sangria was delicious as well as the paella. We stayed in Brooklyn for the afternoon but headed back into the city around 4pm to get ready for our last show of the trip; The Music Man, starring Hugh (Wolverine) Jackman and Sutton Foster.

As you can imagine, with that kind of star-power I was not able to work any kind of magic with our seats. We were in the orchestra, just not center orchestra. But they were still good seats.

The show, an American classic, was good, albeit, a bit dated. Bolstering such classic songs as “76 Trombones”, “Trouble” and “Til There Was You,” it also had Two-time Tony winner, Sutton Foster in the role of Marian the librarian. However, and this is just my opinion, this is not a role she is suited for vocally and quit frankly, I think she is a bit over-rated.

The real attraction for most people was the man in the role of Harold Hill….Mr. Hugh Jackman. He can sing (though sometimes his voice bugs me - almost like he is trying too hard to sing), he can dance up a storm and he can act. The millisecond he walked onto the stage he had the audience in his hand. Most people have only seen him as the adamantium claw-wielding mutant in the X-Men films, so this was a treat to see a softer, more versatile side of his acting chops…and he did not disappoint.

After the show, we went back to the hotel, which was across the street and down a block, for a nightcap and then it was off to bed. I was sad that I had seen my last Broadway show on this trip, but thrilled that the four shows I had seen were all amazing.

I give this show three and a half possums out of five, but Mr. Hugh Jack definitely gets five possums. As for day itself, it gets nothing short of a five possum rating. I could not have asked for a better vaycay and there was one day left - SUNDAY FUNDAY.

I got a call from my neurologist yesterday. I have to go back in on Monday and redo my blood work. One of my counts was little low and she wants to make sure it’s up before chemotherapy on Tuesday. If it’s still low, she may postpone this chemo treatment. Stay tuned…

I have nothing planned today - except stay inside. What’s your Saturday like?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong

My Life with Multiple Sclerosis 072222

Good Morning, Possums, from the Celebrity Suite of the Wyndemere Condominiums on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. Today is Friday, July 22. It’s going to be a partly cloudy day in Dallas today with a high of 102 degrees.

Happy Birthday to:

Brian Scott Davis

Happy Friday / FriYAY / TGIF - The Weekend is here! What’s not to be happy about?

Last Friday at this time, well, it was Day 3 of my NYC vaycay and I was (shockingly) still asleep. I slept a good six to eight hours every night and that never happens.

Everyone had the morning free and we decided to investigate a rumor I heard that the Plaza hotel WAS indeed open to the public as was the Champagne Room. We took our time getting up and grabbed a slice of pizza (you can’t go to NYC and not grab a slice at some point) for lunch before we made our way towards Central Park. It was another weather-perfect day - around 79/80 degrees.

All nine of us met at the Plaza at noon. We were ushered into the elite hotel by the friendly outside bellmen and there it was…The Champagne Room. And just like that...my New York Staple/Tradition would continue unscathed. A table had been reserved for us with a view of this magnificent room where I would soon receive my ice-cold, over-priced, pretentious dirty martini. OK, so this time it wasn’t ice-cold, but I got passed that very quickly.

The staff in the Champagne Room were all delightful and attentive which made for an excellent experience. We all had our martini / cocktail of choice and sat around and talked for an hour or so and then ventured on our way. We splintered apart and some folks went here, others went there. But we decided to regroup at a restaurant close to the theater at 6pm.

The show that evening was the musical, Funny Girl. It starred Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill’s sister) and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester in ‘Glee’ and Sophie Lenon in 'The Marvelous Ms. Maisel'). Beanie Feldstein was going to be out that night and the understudy was going on in her place. I didn’t really care about that because I just want to see the show. This was the first revival in 30 years. That, and Feldstein had gotten lackluster reviews and I heard the understudy blew Feldstein away.

Once again we were ushered in early to our seats on the third row, center orchestra. I know, I know…it wasn’t as good as the previous evening on the second on row, but I didn’t exactly feel like I failed with these tickets either. It was AWESOME! The understudy was amazing. She had the audience eating out of her hand the entire show. Sadly, Feldstein was not missed.We waited until everyone left the theater before I was wheeled out. As we left, the head usher said, “You guys are lucky. You goth understudy tonight.” That alone made me think the critics might be right - we were lucky. And after that performance, I felt lucky. It was FANTASTIC!.

On a scale of one to five…I give the show four and a half possums, but I give that understudy five out of five possums. She was (in my opinion) that good…and we heard her tell a fan that she was at Macy’s with her mom that afternoon and got a call at 3pm from her manager that said she was going on - LOL).

After the show, a few folks went out, but I went back to the hotel and went to bed. I had a five-possum day and it was time to rest. Day three was done for me and it was a good one.

This Friday is a little different. I have a few meetings for work this morning. And then it’s off to the UT Southwestern Spa and Resort for a urinalysis (required before chemo next week - not sure why) and an afternoon Plasma Exchange. I know - I get to have all the fun!

What’s your Friday like?

Anyhoozle, I wish you and everyone around you a SPECTACULAR day. Do everything today with kindness in your heart. The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one!

Peace, Love and Blessings to you all. -AJ

#strengthpatiencepeacefaith

#hopelovejoygrace

#AndyStrong