Saturday, September 6, 2025 – Day 389

Saturday, September 6, 2025

Good morning, it’s good to be with you.

We’re putting together a list for anyone interested in a t-shirt to support the Andy’s Army runners of the Chicago Marathon on October 12, 2025. Look for the photo below.

So far we’ve got about 50 people signed up. Price is still TBD—it won’t be much. You don’t need to attend the race to get one… if you’d like a shirt, reply to Cindy, me, or this blog. No need to do it again if you’re on the list. We’ll confirm before we go to print.

For those who’d like to support ALS United in their mission to help those living with ALS, click the top right hamburger icon (3 horizontal lines), hop over to the submenu, and follow the fundraiser link.

Our three runners are:

Thank you all for your support! The generosity of this community has been incredible. To date, Team Andy’s Army has raised over $40k thus far!🙏 Every dollar helps people who’ve been diagnosed with this shitty disease.

This past week was busy—medical appointments, the ALS United Classic, and yesterday, my annual eye exam. I was actually looking forward to this one. My vision has changed a lot in the last year, and I was looking forward to a new prescription.

For 20 years, since moving to Crystal Lake, I’ve had the same eye doctor. Cindy drove me, wrangled the walker, and—just as important—handles the heavy doors. These days, every door feels like it’s been reinforced with cement, they are all too heavy for me to move them. I’ve become dependent on handicap door buttons. I do expect them on professional buildings. This particular building? No buttons. Thanks, but no thanks!

The office is on the second floor. Options: elevator or stairs. Guess which one we took. For 20 years, I’ve always chosen the stairs…part exercise, part stubborn pride. Even last September, a month after my diagnosis, I still climbed these stairs. Yesterday, I stood there pressing the elevator button for the first time, and it hit me: this is how far things have changed in a year. The elevator ride was short, quiet, and… a little humbling and a lot of disappointment.

Then came the exam itself. I was ready for new lenses, maybe even a fashionable new pair of frames to make me look 10 years younger (or at least smarter). The verdict? My vision hasn’t changed much at all—it’s just cataracts doing the mischief. The fix is surgery, if I can convince the surgeon my vision is messing with my quality of life. My response? “Doctor, I can’t even read the golf scores when I’m watching golf on tv…of course it’s affecting my life!” ⛳️

So next step: consult with the eye surgeon. If I do go forward, maybe I’ll finally get to try out those wraparound “old man” sunglasses they hand you after surgery. The other option is an eye patch and I’ll let Nicole guide me around. This would give her a chance to makeup for running me into the restaurant door at The Lantern, 25 years ago after my Lasix eye surgery. Don’t worry…I forgive you.

Everybody have a great Saturday. It’s the beginning of NFL on Sunday. Actually it started this past Thursday, but I didn’t watch it.

Love you guys!❤️