British Invasion, Part 7: Gotta go to Mo's!

British Invasion, Part 7: Gotta go to Mo's!

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 7 in a series chronicling their visit...

What would a trip to America be like without a visit to...Walmart! Yes, my friends insisted that they would not leave the country until they had been to Walmart, so that was our destination today. They found a few bargains there, but they seemed to enjoy Modell's Sporting Goods even more. Now, when they return home, they'll be able to start a sports fashion trend with their Phillies gear. That, and they'll be singing that catchy "Gotta go to Mo's!" jingle in an English accent!

Our final stop was for lunch at Wendy's. In America, we have the fast-food holy trinity of McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Apparently not so in the U.K., where there are no Wendy's. Let's just say my English mates enjoyed their BIG meals!

Then, it was time for my friends to pack their bags. I couldn't let them leave without sampling one more Philadelphia delicacy: the Italian hoagie, so I ordered a couple for the road.

Saying goodbye was not easy. The past week was the greatest week of my life. Although I was home, it felt like a vacation. Now, it's time for life to return to normal. But there's always next year, right Emma and Gary?

British Invasion, Part 6: Tuesday in the Park

British Invasion, Part 6: Tuesday in the Park

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 6 in a series chronicling their visit...



Few places offer better views of the Philadelphia skyline than Fairmount Park's Belmont Plateau, so today's tour began there. We then got back in the van and crossed the Schuylkill River and headed to one of my favorite spots in the entire city, the picturesque Fairmount Waterworks, which was the first municipal waterworks in the country when it opened in the early 19th century. For lunch, we ate at the posh Waterworks Restaurant and Lounge.

We were all stuffed after lunch, but there's always room for, uh, well Dunkin' Donuts. Looks like I've created a monster, as my friends wanted more iced coffee! The food fest continued later, as Emma and Gary treated us to Chinese food for dinner.

Is it possible to be exhausted from eating? If so, I am!

British Invasion, Part 5: It's Comcastic!

British Invasion, Part 5: It's Comcastic!

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 5 in a series chronicling their visit...



Can you believe that's a giant high-definition video wall in the lobby of the newly-opened Comcast Center? That was the first stop on our tour of Center City Philadelphia today. Called the "Comcast Experience," the wall measures 83 feet wide by 25 feet high.

After experiencing that, we made our way down John F. Kennedy Blvd. to LOVE Park, where Emma and Gary got a photo with Bender from "Futurama". Crossing the street, we went through the courtyard at City Hall, the largest masonry building in the world, which took 30 years to build!

Next we made a quick detour at Dunkin' Donuts. There's one on pratically every block in America, but apparently none in the U.K., so my friends just had to try one of DD's iced coffee concoctions.

Then we went to the Loew's Hotel, formerly the PSFS bank headquarters. and took an elevator up to the 33rd floor, where we caught a breathtaking view of the city.

Our final destination on this day was the historic Reading Terminal Market, where I introduced Emma and Gary to that famous Philadelphia delicacy, the cheesesteak, at Spataro's It was love at first bite. Even I, cheesesteak connosieur that I am, have to admit it was one of the finest sandwiches I have ever consumed.

Before signing off for the night, I'd like to give a shout goes out to Brad over at PhillySkyline.com for his assistance in putting together today's itinerary.

British Invasion, Part 4: Meet, Greet...and Eat

British Invasion, Part 4: Meet, Greet...and Eat

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 4 in a series chronicling their visit...

My friends were only away for one day, but I truly missed them. So I was more than happy to take a ride to central New Jersey to pick up Emma and Gary at the train station after their New York expedition.

For the rest of the day, we, uh, ate! First, we stopped at my aunt and uncle's, where we had drinks and ate some delicious appetizers -- and I autographed their copies of my book, with the assistance of my lovely English secretary! When we got home, the food fest was on, as friends and family came to meet my English friends and to have a hamburger and hot dog in their honor.

This visit is going fast. It will be over before I know it. But I'm having a great time and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts...

British Invasion, Part 3: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

British Invasion, Part 3: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 3 in a series chronicling their visit...



When I first began exchanging e-mails with Emma and I told her about my love of sports, she expressed a desire to see a "proper" baseball "match" one day -- and to eat a hot dog while doing so. I promised her that if she ever made her way to Philadelphia, I would take her to a game and get her that hot dog. Well, she did, and tonight, I did!

With a clear sky, pleasant breeze, low humidity and temperature near 80 degrees, you couldn't ask for a better night for baseball -- except for a Phillies win! On the Sound of Philadelphia Celebration night, the game began on a sour note when old Phils' nemesis Vladimir Guerrero stepped to the plate in the top of the first and impaled the hometown team with a two-run homerun. It didn't get much better, as the Phillies offense could not muster much against Angels' pitcher Ervin Santana and the Angels hammered the Phillies' pitchers all night. It wasn't pretty.

The final score was 7-2. Normally, I would have been less than pleased about that. But my English mates had a great time and that was really all I cared about. "Hey, at least you got to see how the game is played," I told them.

"Yeah, the Angels showed how the game is played!" said my nurse.

All in all, though, it was a fun evening. And, of course, Emma got her hot dog!

With my friends headed to New York City tomorrow, Winheld's World will take a break. See you Sunday...

British Invasion, Part 2: Shop (and Eat) 'Til We Drop

British Invasion, Part 2: Shop (and Eat) 'Til We Drop

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 2 in a series chronicling their visit...



When I got up this morning, Emma and Gary had already been up for five hours! So they were more than ready for our first expedition -- to the King of Prussia Mall. To give you an idea of how much I love shopping malls, it took visitors from 4,000 miles away to get me to go to the largest mall on the east coast.

As I was a King of Prussia mall virgin, we met up with my friend Kimi, the "queen" of King of Prussia, who knows everything there is to know about that mall. We sent Kimi, Emma and Kimi's nurse on their merry way, and Gary, my nurse and I went shopping for manly stuff -- electronics, sporting goods stores, etc.

We all reconvened a few hours later at The Cheesecake Factory. This was also first visit for me, and I'm afraid it might not be the last! At least I won't have to cross an ocean to get there. Emma, a self-professed cheesecake lover, on the other hand, will! Let's just say that we all ate well. My English mates couldn't believe the portion size of our meals. The only negative part of the day was that the unfinished slice of chocolate cheesecake that I took with me melted on the ride. Thank you, Philadelphia in the summertime!

British Invasion, Part 1: The Big Day

British Invasion, Part 1: The Big Day

It all began one day last March with an incredibly moving comment left on my blog by a young woman in England named Emma grieving the loss of her fiance to DMD. E-mails, instant messages, and webcam conversations ensued, and we quickly became the best of friends. Soon after, Emma met Gary and I became friends with him as well. Not long after, Emma and Gary began making plans to visit me here in Philadelphia. This is part 1 in a series chronicling their visit...

I woke up this morning, excited that after 10 months of anticipation, I was finally going to the airport to pick up my friends. It was a good thing I got there early because the short-term parking lot closest to the international terminal could not accommodate my van's raised roof. We had to park two terminals down!

As I sat there in the international arrivals area, I started getting nervous. I had known Emma and Gary for many months and talked face-to-face with them via webcam, but would it be awkward when I actually met them in person? When they emerged through the sliding glass doors and Gary waved at me, I felt relief and excitement. My nurse and I went over to greet them and it wasn't awkward at all. We started talking and it was like we had picked up right where we had left off. As we headed for the van, they recounted being detained by customs over a box of strawberries!

We took the long way home to avoid traffic and to show off some of my favorite places in the city, like the boathouses along Kelly Drive. As we drove along, my friends munched on authentic Philly soft pretzels. I even remembered to bring mustard!

"These pretzels are fantastic!" Emma exclaimed. "We don't have anything like them in England." Indeed. Neither does the rest of the United States!

When we got back to my house, my friends were exhausted. It was 5 p.m. in Philadelphia, but 10 p.m. in England, after all. I was amazed that they were able to stay up at all, but they made it until about 8 p.m. I hope they sleep well because we have a busy day ahead of us!

Father's Day Feast

Father's Day Feast

Last year, my father and I began an annual tradition of spending Father's Day together. Instead of throwing our money away at the casinos in Atlantic City, as we did last year, we stayed closer to home and went out to lunch at a restaurant specializing in Russian cuisine. It was only fitting, in that my father has introduced me to all kinds of foods over the years.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home in front of the TV, watching the Phillies -- something else that my father introduced me to many years ago. Unfortunately, they literally threw the game away, thanks to a fielding error by Tom Gordon and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6. Just as Father's Day is an annual tradition, so too is losing in Philadelphia!

Like Old Times

Like Old Times

Not unlike many other people, the beginning of college was an awkward time for me. I wasn't sure what people would think of me. I found out on the first day of my first class (physics) as an undergraduate at Temple University (physics), when a pretty girl came right up to me and introduced herself. Not exactly something that happened to me every day! Her name was Krysta and it turned out that she was a student in the same department as I was. What impressed me most was that she didn't even seem to notice my wheelchair.

I don't remember a whole lot from that physics class, but I do remember all of the conversations I had with Krysta about the Philadelphia Flyers. We stayed friendly after that semester, but soon after graduation, we lost touch.

When I was writing my book, I was able to reconnect with Krysta, who had moved across the country, and interview her. We've stayed in touch since. Today, after nearly eight years, we met in person, and it was just like old times, only without any annoying professors interrupting us because it was time for class to start!

I know I had a wonderful time. I just hope it isn't another eight years before we meet again because I'll be seriously old by then!

In Memorium

In Memorium

My life would not be what it is if not for my family and friends, so it was with great sadness to learn a few weeks ago of the passing of my great-uncle, Francis Winheld. Tonight, I attended a memorial service commemorating his life. Gregarious and full of life, my uncle cared about the important things -- his family and friends, his faith and his community. He also knew how to cook a tasty pot of mussels, a fond childhood memory of mine from summers spent at the Jersey Shore.

Having dealt with various health issues, he gave back by visiting hospital patients going through similar ordeals, including yours truly. I guess you might even say that my uncle and I were cardiac buddies! When I had my defibrillator implanted three years ago, I didn't know anyone else with one -- except for my uncle. Not long after the surgery, he hopped a plane from California and was with me as I celebrated my 27th birthday.

Just a few months ago, he surprised me at my book signing. Above is a picture from that day of my uncle, my aunt, and me. That was the last time I ever saw my uncle. If he had not made the trip I would not have had the opportunity to see him. Amazing how life works.