Celebrating in Style

Celebrating in Style

What better way to celebrate turning the big 3-0 than with a TV appearance on the local Fox affiliate's morning program, "Good Day Philadelphia," to talk about my book?

Well, that's just what happened, and it was quite a thrill! The only thing that didn't thrill me was that I had to wake up at 6 a.m. to get there in time. I don't think I've seen 6 a.m. for at least a few years, except for waking up, seeing the clock, and going back to sleep! Everything happened so fast that I hardly had a chance to open my eyes -- well, except for the traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway. That didn't move too fast. But I arrived at the studio at exactly 8 a.m. I was whisked inside, where a Fox 29 staffer informed me that I was scheduled to appear live on the air at 8:23 a.m.

That's precisely what happened. You can see my interview with Sheinelle Jones above. Note the birthday cake that was given to me at the end of the interview. As it turned out, I was actually on the air for a full three minutes, which is spectacular by TV standards!

As it was so early, my nurse and I decided to go find some breakfast. Problem was that we couldn't find any place in the area that actually served breakfast and when we did, the establishments we came across in Philadelphia's Olde City neighborhood were inaccessible. So we settled for some fast food and called it a day, er morning.

I spent much of my 30th birthday fielding congratulatory phone calls and answering
e-mails, but mostly just trying to stay awake at the computer. I had a nice, low-key dinner with my family, followed by the cake I had received earlier in the day.

Turning 30 is a milestone for most people, but especially for me. I doubt that anyone would have predicted I'd still be around more than 25 years after being diagnosed with Duchenne's. Still, my feelings are mixed because it's hard to predict the future and there is so much more I want to accomplish.

There will be more celebratory activities this weekend, because how many times do you turn 30, after all? But for now, I'm going to bed -- it has been a long day!