Friday, October 10, 2025 – Day 423

Friday, October 10, 2025

Good morning—it’s Friday and marathon weekend! Who’s excited for all the runners? I am!! 🤗🤠

Fundraising total for Andy’s Army stands at $57,342. Nikki crossed the $30k mark yesterday. 🥳

The Moravian Star is back up after a six-month hiatus. These stars can only take so much abuse from Mother Nature. I’ve still got remnants of the last one dangling from the trees like metallic confetti—after four years, it finally disintegrated, and a few pieces are stuck too high to retrieve. It’s like abandoned satellites in space… someday they may come back to earth.

I’d show you a photo, but the leaves are still hanging on the trees—it’s basically a total eclipse. In a couple of weeks, when the leaves drop, the star should shine through beautifully.

A big thank-you to Mark for getting the star back up. It’s one of those winter sights that brings a little extra light to the season. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the more entertaining symptoms of ALS is an “excitable” bladder. Combine that with my unsteady balance and, well, peeing becomes quite the adventure. When I lose my footing, it’s like a garden hose under pressure flopping around—water, not so bad; pee, not so much.

I started taking a prescription a couple of months ago to quiet things down, but it didn’t do much. Knowing marathon weekend was coming up, my care team upped the dosage last week. Still nothing. So they bumped it again a few days ago, and now—finally—it seems to be helping. I haven’t had a “panic pee” moment in 24 hours. There’s still room to adjust, but so far, so good. Better living through chemistry! 🧪

I’m still a little concerned about the marathon crowds and limited bathroom options. My best strategy might be to make a quick detour to a nearby hotel if nature calls. Just don’t want to risk any surprises. I’ve got backup plans, though—I’ve been testing a discreet catheter system this week that seems to work well. And if that ever springs a leak, I’ve got adult diapers to keep me dry. And if that fails… well, there’s always a change of clothes. 😄

Last night we had Barb and Mark over for dinner. Cindy got the urge to cook, and Barb happily took full advantage of not having to. It was a simple meal—crescent lasagna (a family favorite) and salad (I took a pass). We ate in the dining room, as we always do when we have guests, but after a few minutes those upright chairs had my neck screaming for mercy. So it was a quick meal for me, and then I retreated to a chair by the fireplace for some relief. Next time, I’ll use the wheelchair ♿️ —it’s much more comfortable. Lesson learned.

Have a great Friday, everyone. Wishing safe, easy travels for those hitting the road or skies ✈️ this weekend—especially our flyers. Fingers crossed for smooth connections and no delays! Love you guys! ❤️

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