THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE EPILEPTIC

On Saturday, November 14th after a late brunch in Bayside, we took a 4:28pm LIRR for 20 minutes to Penn Station and went to some places that Michelle wanted to show me like Bryant Park, which during this month and next for Christmas has about 30 to 40 booths, lots of sellers of ornaments mostly for tourists and an ice skating rink with a line of children wrapped around it. There is no Christmas tree yet there or in Rockefeller Center which made it easier to walk around without the over-crowded sidewalks and streets for a tree that is decorated the same every year. We walked around the Park and then to Lord & Taylor’s Christmas window displays under their gold lights which was beautiful.

After that Michelle knew a place that is open all year long, Christmas on 5th which is a very wide, long and Holy store with beautiful ornaments small and large as well as Nativity Scenes I do plan on purchasing, but we were short on time. Directly across the street was my favorite store - Barnes & Noble with a lot of movies and music - and vinyl’s on the second floor. I grabbed some books on the way out and onto St. Patrick’s Cathedral which had just been renovated beautifully all around, Michelle and I lit a few candles, said a few prayers and made some donations on its soon to be completion and then I noticed something on the right side of the church near the back - a Pieta’.

  A replica of Michelangelo’s who is widely regarded as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. Among his works are the "David" and "Pieta" statues and the Sistine Chapel. Most of his work was done there in Rome where he passed away at the age of 88 in 1564. This one shone here though in New York is a little different and far less famous.

I purchased four prayer books in the gift shop and left. It was now 7:30 and we were off to our 8 o’clock dinner reservation at Ted’s Montana Grill, we reserved a booth because Michelle and I noticed from the past that there are only 6 booths and a reservation is necessary which I remembered and told her to call earlier. At 7:45 we were there and the booth was ready for us. After all of that walking I had not one problem from early in the day to Ted Turner’s Montana Grill when I noticed a saying from Ted Turner himself on the wall above us which reads: Do something. Either lead, follow or get out of the way. Funny, but true as well.

And then this happened on our way back home in Penn Station...

A problem which has happened 2 times before at different times and days, both in Penn Station. It was about 9:45pm and we were waiting for a 10:18pm train home that Michelle and I were trying to catch with hopes that this time, since the day had gone so well already walking around town – even though we were tired after leaving the restaurant, but not so much that we couldn’t walk back to walk off the food we had just ate.

We reached the station escalator fine, but as soon as we got on with people all around, I had a drop attack seizure and it seemed like I was up against a wall. More of a dream really; rather a nightmare. As I opened my eyes again finally I found 4 people, 2 couples - Good Samaritans - who had pulled me off of the escalator with my 200 pounds of dead weight which then felt like much more (a body soaked in water so to speak). Michelle could not have done it alone.

A woman had asked my wife, “Is he okay, he looks like he’s falling down” she grabbed her husbands’ arm across the escalator and Michelle told them I was having a seizure. I was then grabbed along by his friend/family member and they pulled off and sat me down on the ground. There were at that time people Michelle and I remember walking on by around me, they would have walked on me not caring if I was dead or not, just kicking me aside.

As I finally woke up I started to speak to them, dazed at what had just happened and yet being in Penn Station it was no surprise, more like a curse destined to happen. As I started to say thank you to them the first woman looking down at me, after Michelle had told them that I was ok, "he’s had a seizure, he’s been Epileptic for about 30yrs", said to me that she has family members with seizures too so they understood my problem, no need to explain. They had also called some cops over to help me up, 6 Officers arrived and they wanted to call an ambulance for me, but I told them to hold on and give me a minute.

As I stood up and took off my now dirty leather jacket I handed it over to Michelle and they had a stunned look on their faces, I recall. They looked me over and saw that I was not hurt and I said thank you anyway but I’ll be fine. Although not 100% and still a bit shaken-up an officer asked us where we were headed and walked us over to the seating area about 300ft away and asked the gentleman at the front-desk about our train time and what track we would be on. Michelle and I sat as the officer pointed and we waited for our train to come.

The two times prior this year, the second was after going to a NY Ranger game in Madisen Square Garden as we leaned against a wall away from everybody else that could get hurt from me I still dropped what I was holding and slid down the wall to my right, Michelle was to my left, as I had gotten up there was one cop there asking us if we wanted any help and we both said no. As I probably looked like a drunken fool, which I was not - I was all scuffed up from the dirty floor from my face to shoes, yet nobody this time cared to stop and lend a hand, just stepped away from me.

Not everybody is as generous all the time but there were a few the time before that when Michelle went to get our tickets home as I stayed standing behind her against the giant center pillars near the ticket booths when I slid off of that too. Michelle saw and ran over to me as well as some other people who stayed around me so that I did not get trampled over by a crowd rushing to a train that had been called until I got myself up again. I remember that those ladies that found me there had themselves or family members with the same issues. In Penn Station when a train is called, if you don’t know it is like – All hell breaks loose for a seat and death would have come of it!       

On the train home now that night I found us two seats opposite from each other, didn’t care as long as we had somewhere to sit and put our bags down.

Michelle and I learned something after that last dreadful fall, to never take the LIRR home again because it seems no matter what time of night it is or what great day we had in the city, it will not end well in Penn. So for that matter we will be taking an UBER Car Service home, which is beginning to replace NY Taxi cabs in the city, which I have no problem with. Something tells me that a $40 car/cab service is safer than injuring myself or others because people like the ones that found me lying on the ground will not always be there!

There will be more bad than good in your life - unfortunately. Just try to stay positive about your life and you just might get through the hell you may be living in, if it hasn’t found you yet!               

WAKING IN A POOL OF BLOOD

Not something that I wished to be talking about, but coming close to death on so many events has caused me to be more cautious than a regular human being.

Cancellations are something that Michelle and I know well. Our honeymoon was a cruise, the Allure of the Seas by Royal Caribbean and the following year on our 1 year anniversary we did an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Oasis of the Seas owned by the same company. In May of 2013 we needed to cancel our 3rd Anniversary cruise for the week of June 4th because of all that had happened to me that May. We haven’t been on a cruise since or a vacation at all for that matter. Michelle and I do take out insurance on everywhere we book, otherwise we would be charged for the whole trip even though we were not there - every airline, every hotel and it costs us each an extra hundred dollars. The cruise ships that we had chosen to take are too big to travel to New York with all the low bridges so they need to be taken out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. There are ships that can make it up to New York which docks in Bayonne, New Jersey which we will be taking in 2016 if that is possible.

Yesterday was no different, I had bought tickets to go see Steve Jobs the movie that just opened in theatres and the following day we had tickets to a Ranger game which all came to a deadly halt.

Michelle with her jacket on ready to go at 3:45pm for a 4:20 flick had me go to the bathroom one last time so that I’d be okay for the movie which we have done so many times already. I went to this place which seems to want me dead for some reason I’ll never know. As I stood up, pants down, 6 feet tall I came crashing down again face first smashing against the bathroom door side slicing my face beside my right eye (saving it once more) and my upper lip, same side along with my elbow and knees.

A river of blood came shooting out of the top of my face gushing out as I lay there, naked from top to bottom - face, arms, hands and legs covered in blood. Quickly Michelle put a towel for me to hold over my face to stop the bleeding, but because I was still in an epileptic trance, I didn’t hold it well as the blood kept running down. A forehead and face are not the parts of the body you want sliced. As I laid there I lost the second most amount of blood to the train tracks incident (that will be a future blog). I finally came to and held the towel over my face because I had not yet known where the blood was coming from and eventually I noticed.

As I opened my left eye and looked down at myself and the ground it was all red and the blood had even trailed into the hallway and onto the rug. Michelle had called my parents over which had taken more time than usual because my father had just came home from work and had to quickly change. Well Michelle started cleaning me and helped me get my pants up as I sat and waited in the bathroom chair. Amazingly though the bleeding stopped for the most part, so I did not need stiches. Michelle is very good at many things and one of them is being my nurse away from a hospital. As my parents waited for me in the kitchen Michelle and I went into the bedroom to get all of the blood wiped away from my body and I changed my clothes being very careful of all my wounds. My parents waited and were happy to see me return once more okay and almost totally normal again. The only good part of this true story is that it had happened on a Saturday which meant for me that Michelle would be home to take care of me, much better than my mother so that I wouldn’t have to bring cleaning products along with me but I would still wait for Michelle’s return.    

Michelle is very good with band aids and lucky for me she’s not afraid of blood or vomit like most wives are and that’s why I have her for a wife, nobody could do a better job of taking care of me when it is needed. God knows!

Although the question is “When will this stop?” You can say only God knows because there is no cure for Epilepsy, not yet anyway. I was so frightened last night that I don’t know how much more I can take so I started ordering books on Amazon just because for some reason it makes me feel better to read books all written by my epileptic friend, Fyodor Dostoevsky as well as I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. Does anyone?  

My grandparents early that morning before this incident had called over my parents, godmother and my Aunt Lisa over to come at 7:30p.m. and they were calling us down for cake and coffee around 9. I said to Michelle “they must be crazy if they think that we are going down to visit too, I don’t want to be seen covered in bandages”. Michelle agreed. My Aunt Lisa came up, who I always have a fun time talking to, no one else came up until my mother had brought up a slice of delicious cake that grandma had made that looked like the entire cake. After my mother left, they kept calling Lisa back down, bugging her to have coffee and tea. She finally went back down to them, but gave me a hug like no other because nobody knows if they will see me again. I promised her that I would stay strong for her and the rest of the family.

I had Michelle go into our bedroom closet and grab my baseball helmet which is big , strong, new and cushioned, which I believe will work well for keeping my face from ever bleeding again, at least in our bathroom. More easy said than done, but I can at least try not waking up in a pool of my own blood!     

SAMMY, ONE AMAZING DOG!

Sammy is now 10 years old, born on July 10th . It all started at a puppy mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Amish country on August 27th 2005 by my brother Michael, making the dog now 64 years old. The ratio in case you don’t have a dog is 7:1 but 1:1 their first year to humans. Sammy is a fun loving Jack Russel Terrier, very smart and very strong. His breed is something special, one of the smartest of all and I have a true story to prove it. Jack Russel’s are small to medium sized dogs, on average 15 to 20 pounds and definitely a Terrier. They are a hunting breed with a long snout, speed and strength and what hunters love most about them – catching rabbits mostly.

Sammy is older now and weighs in at 26 pounds.    

He runs like a bullet, made his own track in our backyard at a previous house which he enjoyed compared to the new house he has lived in the past five years. The first five years were perfect for him to grow and run and have fun. The rest of us, besides my mother were working at the time and two brothers in school. The first year my mother hated Sammy, despised him. She would ask all of us at the dinner table many times this question while in an angry tone. “Who would you guys prefer to live with, Sammy or me, make your choice”.

My brothers Chris, Michael, Anthony, Dad and I every time yelled out “Sammy”. She knew that she was not going to win so the question stopped. After that Sammy started to grow on her to become her most favorite in the family. He would chase the cats away constantly, but they would return because Chris fed them, always. I’ll get back to that later. Sammy learned English and Italian, some tricks and how to respond by making funny sounds which he picked up from Michelle who he fell in love with. In 2012 after our wedding with me at my parents he noticed me back everyday, but the weekends and this is when he became my personal Watchdog.

Now a watchdog is a trained as a puppy for the needy of all sorts or as Canine Cops. Sammy was already seven, much older but just as smart. Dad told him one thing and one thing only which changed him - “Sammy, stay here and watch Bruno”, and that was all it took. For fours years so far he has stayed by my side always, in his bed when I sat on the couch I dread so much, only rose when I did and swung my hand to give him the signal to come and run to the back door or stayed with me while I ate at the table. He knew when and if I fell, always stayed by the bathroom door to listen. When we walked, he knew where the stairs were around the house and made sure that he was by my side on my right to keep me safe as well and he turned his head around to make sure that I was still there with him.

He truly is an amazing dog!  He loves birthdays and Christmas mostly because we allow him to open all of the presents and even look at what’s in the box to get his approval, from toys to shirts and ties, I kid you not. He is adorable when he smiles and you can just wonder what he is thinking. My little NY Ranger.  

Most of the time that I look at him I know that even though they aren’t saying anything that he’s smarter then we are. Michelle always says herself “If he could only talk, I wonder what he’s thinking”. I just tell her that “I think if he could Michelle, it would be pretty creepy”.  Michelle loves The Gremlin’s which is always what she’s referring too, the one that turns into a scientist in the Second movie. Would be funny, but that would mean all talking!

Any baby, child or dogs/cats, his breed is 100% safe. He loves any young creature, goes up to babies and stops in his tracks and puts his little wet nose onto them and turns away. Only my 2 year old cousin Nicholas has ever been knocked over, fallen and giggled along with every adult as well laughing because it was not intentional.

Sammy chases cats always as dogs do, but jumps right over the kittens aka his friends to chase the big angry ones that have the intention of hurting him. He barks and barks along with adults until you pet him, become his friend and he will remember you always and forever. But from chasing those 12 cats left and right, he ended up injuring his back legs/ knees (deteriorating joints) to where he was unable to bend them, forcing him to hop on his hind legs like a rabbit. Sammy spends most of his time in his bed away from even me, afraid and embarrassed of himself. He went to the vet twice who put him on pain killers and steroids because he was not eating a thing and losing weight, and it’s now October. He had lost a few big teeth on his right side in December 2014 and June 2015 and needed to have soft food only, not hard as the doctor ordered. I always gave him that kind and Michelle bought him many soft snacks, but then he stopped eating them as well. The steroids help for a bit but he refused to take pain killers unless he is tricked to, using cheese or fortune cookies. He stopped almost everything, would not follow me anymore as well as not walking up stairs, if he went out for his business, he would not come back in and had to be picked up. The 1inch stoop by the front door he refused as well, and has to be assisted.

On Sunday October 18, my brother Michael and his fiancé Despina got married and we needed him for pictures like at my wedding 4.5 years ago so he was called, not walking well but that somehow changed the next day. This can be possibly because we had 50 people in my parent’s house or more and the same amount the next day which is why I think Sammy decided to give it a shot and walk again. We all saw his legs walking like normal almost round and round. I was just worried of him getting stepped on accidentally. I was soo happy as was Michelle, many others outside of my immediate family did not know of his problems. I had Michelle with me almost the whole day to do what I wanted, to stand. It was a party and the seats were for a few people that needed to sit and eat so I stood and sat when the time was right and available.

Sammy is a one of a kind dog that will never be a replaceable nor would we want to. We plan on having him for as long as is possible! He keeps me company always and will forever. All dogs do go to heaven, this one will break my heart more then any pet ever has if I cannot see him smile in his bed everyday or napping next to me always wherever that may be or to see him waiting for me at the top of the steps or by the outside doors to keep me safe or hear him running with his dog tags on his color around his neck dangling.  

FUN FACT ABOUT SAMMY:

For the past five years since the central vacuum system in the house was installedSammy became what my mother calls him -

"The Vacuum Cop/Police".

Now Sammy knows where all of the central system vents are and absolutely must be the one to show my mother from the first to the last when she takes out the hose. He oversees every crevice in the house which is not the funniest part of Sammy around the house from top to bottom. He runs to each of these central vacuum vents, but then races back to me because he is terrified like a baby of each vent and jumps on me.

I have to save his shaking little body all day and yet he jumps off of me right back to do it all over again. :)