closer to a cure

if this video goes viral, i could be cured by christmas!!!

ok, not really...cruel joke. SERIOUSLY though, if everyone donated and passed it on to your friends, you could potentially fund the doctors, who find the lifesaving treatment, and BOOM- 

YOU'RE A HERO!!!

let's get this video out there. blast it on facebook, twitter, tumblr or whatever network cures you socially. if you have an in at a local TV station, beg for it to air.  let's get this video some play!

be a HERO...they get more play, too.  *wink, wink*

hello brother

 this is steve gleason circa 2005. you may remember him from his days at wazzu, donning the crimson and gray and making a trip to the rose bowl.  most know him for his legendary blocked punt during the very first game played in the superdome since hurricane katrina ripped through new orleans a year earlier. many saints fans regard that play, seen below,  as a symbol of their city's relentlessness.  that play vaulted steve into cult hero status among saints fans and forever cemented him as a figure of the great revival of a post-katrina NOLA. 

i'll admit, i don't remember steve as a coug or a saint. i've never met the guy but respect him as a fellow athlete and an important figure of new orleans, my absolute favorite southern city. i found out about steve because of the dark passenger that we share. he became a brother to me through ALS. another example of a finely tuned athlete that dedicated his life to strengthening his body so he could excel at football's highest level. steve enjoyed a successful career and was embarking on retired life with his new wife and plans for a family. however, slowly his body began to change. i bet he thought, 'wow, i had no idea that retiring and relaxing could cause my limbs to become so heavy' and 'what the hell is this twitching?!'. i hear ya...i thought that too!!! soon his worst fears were confirmed. steve, like me, had been robbed by a disease that i (maybe we) knew little about. ALS crept into our bodies and tore down the temple that we had been working on since the second we fell in love with our sports. ALS will try to steal every living ounce of you and it won't stop until it does. thankfully steve and i have another thing in common. the years spent dedicated to our sports were not spent alone. just as my teammates and friends held me up after our coaches vicious conditioning tests years ago...they continue to support me now as ALS tests me in a whole new way.

likewise, steve's teammates and friends continue to support him as his limbs weaken. ALS is threatening to rob steve of everything but i guarantee that steve and team gleason are mounting a grand defense. 

doctors and scientists are closer than ever to delivering a treatment to stop and maybe even reverse ALS. PALS (people with ALS) around the world continue to lean on their friends and family for support while patiently waiting for a miracle. until that day, each of us resembles that blocked punt that helped to fuel new orleans ' post-katrina resurrection. a spark lying dormant within us only waiting to be set free to start our own great revival of a post-ALS world.

it's my birthday and i need your help!

this getting older business is for the birds! when you're a kid, you can't wait for your birthday. as we get older, we are just thankful to see another year. this year for my birthday, i only want one thing from each of you. JUST ONE THING!

i've known Andrew Moritz since my freshmen year at UW. before i got to know him, my teammates and i would see him and we'd joke, "look, Jon B plays for u-dub!" seriously, same fade, same facial hair and definitely the same swag...drew defined swag! when i finally got to know him, we were friends instantly. you can't not like drew. he's the type of guy that isn't satisfied until you are laughing so hard that you're crying. once you've cried, it's over, because now he just simply has give you a look and that same joke resurfaces and you're crying again. i know what you're thinking, "what's wrong with that, laughing is good." it is except when he does it in the middle of a professor's lecture, or in the weight room, and the worst-- as he walks by the basketball court that you're trying intently to listen to your coach during practice and you make the mistake of making eye contact with the guy! fourteen years later, just one glance from drew and i'm laughing...that is what i love about Andrew Moritz.

so what does this have to do with my birthday? like me, Andrew drew the short straw when it comes to health. while we celebrated New Years 2009, drew was given the devastating news that he has Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Cancer, a rare and at this time, incurable form of cancer. fast-forward to the present and drew is still battling cancer and still making me laugh. the only thing that's different is that he is now responsible for 20% of his medical bills. as he endures continuous rounds of chemo, his bank account drains faster than his energy.

for my birthday i want you to sign up for the MVP Challenge, a 5k Run/Walk at GREEN LAKE on October 22, 2011 at 10am. bring your walking or running shoes, dogs, cats, what ever you like, just participate! There will be tons of celebrities. all proceeds go to Andrew. if you can't do it, sign up anyways or visit his blog and make a PayPal donation! every penny counts!!! click on the colored links above to learn more about drew, his form of cancer and most importantly, how to sign up for the MVP Challenge. 

Please Help Andrew!!!

mad libs my way

live your life LOUD!!!

almost there...

i'll get there,
one day.