The Rewards of Invincibility

When I was five, I found myself running upstairs though quite often coughing, digging through my drawers and throwing on my short-sleeved royal blue Superman shirt and a red cape with Velcro straps that I would hook around my neck. I would then dart to the top of the stairs with my arms raised as if I could fly anywhere at anytime and my cough while obvious to those around me was insignificant during those episodes because my focus was my feeling of invincibility. The title of "Superman" gave me that feeling of strength and determination that so often cystic fibrosis tried to take away.



I felt a bond with Superman early on...

Around the age of eight, I opened up an encyclopedia to learn that people with cystic fibrosis don't normally live to the age of 25. At least that's how it was in the early eighties. I was devastated. I went from a feeling of invincibility to extremely vulnerability. I was not Superman. It was around that time that I stopped digging through my drawers to find the cape and ceased from raising my arms around the house because it just didn't seem to matter anymore. Superman was immortal. I, on the other hand, had less than two decades of mortality left.



The cape disappeared; was my desire next?

As I grew up, I learned that Superman was less about wearing a cape and an "S" on my chest and more of a feeling of hope and positivity. Invincibility, while a bit unrealistic, was probably healthy for someone like me. Why couldn't I beat cystic fibrosis? Why couldn't I challenge the stereotypes and the statistics? Why did I have to be okay with dying young?

It was around this time that I traded a cape and Superman shirt for athletic shoes and wristbands. I was learning to do something that cystic fibrosis was not supposed to "allow" me to do and that was RUNNING!

Granted, there were roadblocks along the way both mentally and physically as I would spit mucus with most steps and have to take breaks for coughing spasms but I did not quit. In 1997, I was able to run my first Peachtree Road Race, the largest 10 kilometer race in the United States. As a runner, I had to work a lot harder to get to where I needed to be than most people but I thrived at that. Over my 43 years on this earth, I have battled negative statistics that said I would never live to have children or grow grey hair because of my cystic fibrosis.

I suppose that I could make things easier on myself by accepting the role of Clark Kent but running taught me that being Superman is so much more fun. I have had people over the years tell me to make it easy on myself and turn it down a notch and while not at my peak health recently, I began to accept that. Maybe Clark Kent was who I was always supposed to be.

Well, you know what, that's a lot of BS!

I have lived 43 plus years with a daily routine of multiple therapies, copious amounts of pills and more vitamins than a local CVS and "easy" has not once had the decency to come visit me.

Why do I need to accept the role of Clark Kent? Why do I need less pressure? Why can't I be Superman?"

Having a chronic disease is a different beast. You can't ever be complacent. You can't accept "pretty good." You can't accept a new baseline because you're getting older. You have to be the best. So for now on, I proudly accept the moniker of Superman. I owe it to my five year old self and I owe it to my children to teach them that society's version of "status quo" does not have to cut it.

Being overly competitive has been a curse in that my mind is often filled with havoc; however, there is no doubt that the same aggressiveness and fierceness has kept me alive. I can't afford to abandon that mindset.



Perhaps a cape is just as important as a nebulizer for someone like me...

I can't look my children in the eyes knowing that I have accepted complacency over invincibility. How can I tell them to do their best in the classroom or on the field if I don't do it in the gym or in the doctor's office? I can't and I won't.

Some would say I'm insane to believe that I'm invincible but most would have said the same if I told them I would be living and breathing on this earth at the age of 43 with two children, several patches of grey and a workout routine that most people without CF could not handle.

So today marks my 21st consecutive year running the Peachtree Road Race. Today is supposed to be one of the most humid days in memory and my lungs are not quite where they need to me.

Clark Kent would not run this race.

I will.



It's time to teach them the lessons of invincibility.

I don't need a cape, an "S" on my chest or to stand at the stop of my steps with my hands raised to prove that I am Superman.

It's all about attitude...but a nebulizer and Superman headband never hurt anyone, right?



The 5 year old would be proud!

Live your dreams and love your life!

Andy

Fighting on two fronts: The Battle against CF & Mental Illness!

2 A.M. Monday June 26th at the Lipman abode...

Everyone ELSE is asleep. The good shows have long finished. The sports teams have all finished their games. There I sit still doing my treatments and cleaning all of my equipment. I still have tons of voicemails, texts and e-mails to answer but I can't seem to get myself to answer them. My anxiety is still running rampant and my exhaustion is at its highest point. I'm depressed. I hate CF...and right now, quite honestly I hate the way I feel!

This has been a tough 4 weeks. It started out when I got food poisoning and threw up about ten times one night early in the month. A week later, my son was in a baseball tournament and we were rear ended on a highway ramp in Atlanta on our way to the tournament. The other car was totaled. Fortunately neither Ethan nor I was hurt. Of course the insured did not have enough coverage so I had to file under my insurance and the two insurance companies have been fighting ever since and are finally closing in on an agreement though I feel like I've had to do a majority of the work dealing with phone call after phone call. In the meantime, my car will be in the shop another 6 weeks. Then of course most importantly I got the news that my lung function was down again and so we agreed to be aggressive and added a steroid, an inhaled sinus aerosol, three more oral antibiotics and TOBI (an aerosol antibiotic). It's been a bit overwhelming to say the least but I wanted to be in the best shape possible to enjoy the summer with my family. The funny thing is that in this timeframe, good things have happened too like Ethan getting his first medals in a baseball tournament, having an amazing Father's Day with my wife and children and getting to have lunch with my sister. The problem with anxiety and depression is that I really have to dig deep to remember these moments as the bad moments are stuck in the front of my mind.

Initially my PFT's went up a lot on all of the meds and then they went down a bit and then I blew so hard that I probably pulled something and bled a little during my last PFT a week ago. I have decided to give myself a few weeks off of PFT's to heal. The Peachtree (10k race), which I have run for 20 consecutive years, is only 4 days away and I intend to run it again. I have been training this week hardcore. I ran 4.5 miles on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at a 10 to 11 minute per mile pace but most importantly only coughing an average of once every 10 minutes. That's key! I can still tell my breathing is a bit impaired and I'm more tired than usual. Some of that is the medicine of course.

The hardest thing right now is mentally I'm cooked. Just to give you an example, I wake up around 6:30 to start my antibiotics and don't finish all of my treatments for the morning until 10am which is when I work out for 90 minutes (including my run). Then I do my Tobi. Then after a 45 minute break, I do my afternoon treatments. At night, I have been starting my treatments at 10 P.M. and not finishing until 1 A.M. or sometimes as late as 2 A.M. Yikes!

That's when the loneliness and the anxiety set in. When no one else in the free world seems to be awake but me, I just hate sitting in the dark alone while steam flows out of my nebulizer. And I feel horrible that most nights I leave my family alone to go to sleep while I do my stuff. Yeah, the dogs stay down with me but they're not great conversationalists. Let's face it though; I'm not either right now. I don't want to talk to anyone. I talk enough to the most dangerous person I know...me! I will say that I have now watched Jaws and Jaws 2 more times than Spielberg himself.


My strength

Thank goodness for Andrea. She is so strong. She listens and she is not afraid to light a fire under my butt if I'm letting anxiety, depression and CF win. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. I once heard that you're only as strong as your significant other. Well then, call me Hercules!

When I went off of Prednisone a week ago, I didn't wean off. In hindsight, I probably should have. My anxiety was crazy and it hasn't gone down much. I'm constantly pacing and worrying. I'm probably driving my family crazy which is not intentional. I have closed myself off to the outside world which I really started doing more than six months ago. I don't know what started it. I've been so into writing the CF Warrior Project that it's become less of a passion and more of a quest. Sometimes it's hard writing about people who are really struggling but it's awesome at the same time seeing the resolve that they fight with and the accomplishments that they achieve.

Summer and social media just don't seem to mesh for me. When you're sicker than normal and you see everyone (when you're depressed you see a skewed view of the world) laughing and going about their wonderful lives in exotic places (though we all know that Facebook is never that accurate), envy creeps in as much as you would not want to admit it. It's as if life goes on and I have to deal with my own crap which it does and I do. It's tough especially when you know that people think you're Superman. I've probably created that façade. I'm not Superman. I'm much closer to Clark Kent. The work I put in is worthy of the Man of Steel but the fears I deal with and the sadness I have trouble conquering don't put me in the same ballpark as the son of Jor-El.

Here is the positive news. Other than a little tightness which could very well be a combination of all the meds and my anxiety, I'm doing pretty well. I'm running with barely a cough. My weight is stable. My appetite is normal. I'm working out like a beast. I even played a softball double-header the other day. I can still tell I'm not 100 percent but I'm edging closer. I wish I could just snap my fingers and be the old me again but that's not how CF works. That's not how anxiety and depression work either unfortunately.

I know that there are other people with CF who are far worse. There are people with other diseases who are fighting tougher odds. Still this isn't all about me. It was easier when it was. Now I fight to stay healthy for my wife and kids. I fight to get healthy so I don't miss a trip, or a celebration, or even just a simple moment in time. That's a lot of pressure that I unduly put on myself. That's pressure that Andrea doesn't want me to put on myself. My therapist told me Wednesday that I put far too much pressure on myself and then he said to make sure to send him his check in time (hey, that doesn't help. Ha Ha!). My doctor once told me "You can't be Superman all the time!" So right now, I'm focusing on being Clark Kent and being okay with that.

I have shed tears more over the last month than I think I have over the last 5 years combined. I cry watching stories on the news about people suffering. I cry when I see a movie I haven't seen in years. I cry when I just talk. It's awful. I can't define my efforts, my personality, my love for life, my accomplishments on one PFT number or just feeling a little crummy. It's not healthy and quite honestly it's not helping.

I want to make a comeback from this. I really do. I know in my heart that things will be okay. I just have to snap out of this funk. I have been writing some comedy material lately and it makes me laugh. I will start reaching out to more of my friends soon. I'm sorry I haven't been myself in some time. I miss all of you but I especially miss me.

The good thing about bad times is surviving them and subsequently appreciating the good times. The tough thing about bad times is missing out on some stuff and falling behind on others. Time is just not something I have a lot of right now. I figure I spend nearly 6 hours a day on meds, 7 hours on sleeping and 2 hours on eating. I want the rest of that time for my family but I need to divvy some of it out to my friends.

I intend to get better whether it's tomorrow or 6 months from now. The journey is never easy but the destination is always worth it.

Thank you for listening.

Live your dreams and love your life. It's time I follow my own advice.

Andy


Soon!

Going back in time...

Thirty-six years ago, I sat in my den and innocently began reading the “C" volume of our encyclopedia set as I was doing a book report on Christopher Columbus. Moments later, my life would drastically change as I would come to the term “cystic fibrosis.” It was here that I would read “People with cystic fibrosis don’t typically live to the age of 25.” I remember reading the sentence over and over and even saying it out loud a few times hoping that I had read it wrong. When I confronted my parents, my mom cried and my dad didn’t know what to do. I ran up to my room and slammed the door and began planning my funeral in my head. I don’t remember ever crying so much and ever feeling so alone.

It’s been more than three and a half decades since that day and I still remember how hopeless I was at 7 years of age. I try to provide hope for so many people now but I feel like I owe it to seven-year old Andy to give him hope too. So crazy story, today I snatched a DeLorean, sped up to 88 mph and I’m back in my house on West Fontainebleau Drive and the year is 1980, or as my daughter calls it, “The Olden Times.”

Andy, don’t freak out. It’s me. Don’t say a word. Let me talk. I don’t have much time.

First off, I’m you 36 years later. Please don’t make fun of my grey hair or my $5 haircut. By the way, it’s $18 now. Where I come from it’s May 5, 2017. In case you can’t do the math and if I remember your math grades, you can’t; you’re 43 years old and you are not dead. Your humor? Well, that’s another story. I know that encyclopedia scared the crap (don’t tell mom I cursed) out of you but don’t get down. Here are some things to know. Tomorrow morning, our dad will get you into baseball. I know you hate sports but baseball will change the way you feel about them and the way you feel about your father. You will become very competitive and it will help with your fight against cystic fibrosis. By the way, loving sports will not skip a generation. Just be ready for your son. That’s all I’m saying. Hint: Go Panthers.

You know how you have that dream when things go bad and a little girl comes to check on you. Well, she’s going to check on you tonight. Don’t be afraid to ask her to help you. She’s someone very special. In fact, 20 years later, you’ll start a big charity event because of her. She’s the only other person in your family that understands what it’s like to have cystic fibrosis.
Don’t let people tell you what you can’t do. Show them what you can do. Statistics are just numbers. I probably shouldn’t tell you but you do end up finding someone very special who will love you for who you are (hard to believe I know) and you will eventually have children. In fact, this weekend we start the playoffs. Why does that matter? You’re helping coach both teams!!! I would ask for lineup advice but you’re probably not the one to ask. By the way, both of your kids are good athletes. Let’s credit that to your wife’s genes.

Here is some more insight into the next 36 years. There is not a cure for cystic fibrosis yet but we think it’s close. I know you are afraid to talk about cystic fibrosis and don’t want to know any more about it especially after reading the encyclopedia but you are going to take charge of it. In fact, you, your family and friends have raised $3.2 million for the CF Foundation to combat it. I know your mom is upset tonight but she plays a big role in the event’s fundraising. You are very lucky to have the parents that you do. You may hate reading now but you’re writing your 4th book as we speak. You hate being in a crowd of people so of course now you’re a public speaker. All of our sports teams suck. Some things never change. By the way, watch the Sugar Bowl over and over this year. I don’t want to get you down but it might be the last time we can celebrate a national title. In a few years, your reign as only child will end and you’ll be glad it did.

There is so much more to tell you but I’m out of time. Take care of yourself. Give Howard a big hug for me. He’s been peeing a lot in the basement by the way. Don’t tell mom.

Oh, and don’t tell anyone about our conversation. They might think it’s a bit strange.

Ok, gotta put some more Plutonium in the DeLorean. Go get ‘em, buddy! You’ve got a disease to conquer…and you will!

My Breakthrough Drug or Just More Nonsense?

Having a chronic disease is difficult but it's even more difficult sometimes having high hopes for a cure or even just a major breakthrough and then reading that the trials failed to show any improvements in the participants. We hoped that the Ataluren trials would be the first breakthrough drug to target nonsense mutations (my genotype), however; today we received the news that Alturen would not be the miracle medication that we so dearly needed.

Here is the quote from Dr. Stuart Peltz who is the CEO of PTC Therapeutics, the company who developed Ataluren.

"We are disappointed with the outcome of this trial as there are no treatments that target the underlying cause of nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis, one of the most difficult forms to treat."


No, Lloyd, I'm not.

Ataluren is a therapy that was created to try and restore the protein designed to help enable the formation of a functioning protein in patients with genetic disorders caused by a nonsense mutation. A nonsense mutation is an alteration in the genetic code that stops the synthesis of the essential protein.

In layman's terms, back to the drawing board.

I didn't have much hope in the trials as rumor had it that the drug was unlikely to be successful. Still the positive side of this is that drug companies along with the CF Foundation are now targeting the nonsense mutations that affect myself and another 10% of the world's CF population.

I'm conflicted with all of the great news surrounding Kalydeco and Orkambi, two of the breakthrough drugs for cystic fibrosis. These two drugs combined help 50% of the CF population while people like me are left to wait. The hardest thing is when people forward you the great news about these drugs and you're forced to respond, "Great to hear. I'm not a candidate."


Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced both breakthrough drugs Kalydeco and Orkambi this decade.

I am thrilled for the people being helped but sometimes it's hard knowing that my breakthrough, much like a sports championship in my home city of Atlanta, is still probably years away. It's not just me though. I'm also concerned for the parents of young children who put all their eggs in one proverbial basket.

Again, it's not the end of the world. Treatments today are so much better than 20, 10, or even 5 years ago.

Our breakthrough is coming...

And I refuse to call that "nonsense."


I've got too much to fight for to let this keep me down.

Live your dreams and love your life.

Best Wishes,

Andy

25 Sports Moments for Atlanta sports fans in my lifetime!

This list was difficult to put together and not because it was hard to think of 25 moments (there are actually 27 as I added a few ties) but it was difficult to leave off another 50. Plus I'm not going to lie when I say that I had to take crying breaks a few times. So without further adieu, here are the 25 (+ 2 extra + honorable mention) worst sports moments of any Atlanta/Georgia fan over my 43 years on this earth:

25. Cowboy Comeback - Dallas coming back in the 4th quarter to knock off Falcons in 1980 was the first real time this city felt heartbreak for a sports team. I barely remember this game which is why it falls at number 25. I was about 7 but the doom and gloom it put on this city was famous. Down all game, the Cowboys scored a couple of touchdowns in the end to win 30-27 and advance to the NFC Championship game. Atlanta's awful sports moments were just starting.


And so it begins!

24. Ice Ice Baby is gone - I'm combining this one. It was embarrassing enough losing one hockey team but two? Wow! The Thrashers did not win a single playoff game in a decade so I wasn't entirely sad that they left but the Flames went on to win a title in Calgary shortly after departing.

23. Bye-Walker - While many people don't discuss it, Herschel Walker's decision to "walk" after only 3 years at UGA was horrible. The USFL and the New Jersey Generals talked Walker into leaving. The same team that was bought by some guy named Donald Trump the next year and soon would go down in flames. The next year, Georgia won the Cotton Bowl and finished in the Top 5 but we all know bigger things would have happened had he stayed. By the way, back then, it was rare for players to leave prior to playing 4 years of college ball.

22. September 11, 1983 - The Braves trailed the Dodgers by 2 games and were crushing them 6-3 in the 9th inning in LA. They were about to move a game back. It had been a rough few weeks as the Braves had been ahead by 6.5 games left but had lost one of their best players Bob Horner to a season-ending wrist injury. The Dodgers came back in the ninth to claim the game 7-6 thanks to a below average player who only played well against Atlanta, RJ Reynolds. No, he did not smoke. The Braves lost the game and the division by 3 games. This was before the famed "chop" but the start of many "chokes" for the boys in red, white and blue.

21. The Cardinal Rule - In 2011, the Braves led the Cardinals by 10.5 games for the final playoff spot with just a month to go. The Braves fell completely apart and the Cardinals won the Wildcard and to make matters worse, they won the World Series that year, too. Worst collapse in baseball history. Fredi Gonzalez would earn the title "Mr. Not September or October." Ok, I gave him that one but it fits.

20. Where is he? - Then there's 2013. The Braves trailed the Dodgers 2 games to 1 but were leading 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th in LA and the 2 best pitchers in the game were out. Clayton Kershaw was out because he'd pitched most of the game for LA. Craig Kimbrel was out because Fredi Gonzalez is an idiot. He never brought him in to close and Juan Uribe hit a game winning 2-run homer. RJ Reynolds was probably smiling somewhere. I was not.


This could have been avoided.

19. Doing the Pack a "Favre" - Though it gets less fanfare everywhere except Atlanta, the Falcons quietly traded a QB in 1992 to the GB Packers for 2 first round draft picks. The QB was Brett Favre. He was pretty good I'd say if you consider winning a Super Bowl and being a Hall of Famer pretty good. The draft picks, well I'm sure they sucked. The reason they traded Favre was because the Falcons said they couldn't get him sober down here. Now no fan in Atlanta can stay sober watching this team. Not a fair trade-off.

18. The trade - No one talks about this 1983 trade that gave the Indians back 2 All-Stars in fan favorites Brett Butler and future All-Star Brook Jacoby. The Braves received starter Len Barker. Barker, who had a perfect game while pitching for Cleveland, was a perfect mess in Atlanta. The Braves fell apart and lost the division. Shocker. The Braves wouldn't be heard from again for nearly a decade.

17. The wrong suitor for Sutter - Bruce Sutter was the greatest closer in history and then the Braves signed him in 1985. Not only did Sutter become a bust but here was the deal. Bruce Sutter was to receive payments totaling $44 million over the next 36 years from the Braves . . . Sutter would receive a $750,000 salary for each of the next six years and a minimum of $1.12 million a year for the remaining 30 years of the contract. In addition, he would get the $9.1 million in so-called “principal” at the end. Yikes! Sadly, he may have been our best closer last year.

16. 10 seconds left - In 2016, things were looking good for Georgia. With a chance to take over the SEC East, Freshman phenom Jacob Eason threw a touchdown pass with just 10 seconds left to give UGA a 31-28 lead and what most assumed was a victory...unless of course you're an Atlanta/Georgia fan. We knew we left too much time on the clock. With 4 seconds left and no pass rush and no one who could knock down a pass, UT's Josh Dobbs threw his own Hail Mary touchdown pass with no time left. Neither team of course won the SEC East but Georgia's season would go up in flames after that one. Sadly, I was there with my wife who is from Knoxville. I'll leave it there. We did leave early THANKFULLY.


Glad I left!

15. Sorry Tony - The Falcons were cruising in the 2013 NFC Championship game against the 49ers and looked to be on their way to the Super Bowl where it would be like a storybook ending for the career of Tony Gonzalez. But then the 49ers came back and Harry Douglas forgot how to run without falling and we were reminded that Atlanta doesn't believe in storybook endings. We only believe in nightmares. We lost 28-24. Thanks again, Falcons. Oh, and Tony would play the following year, but the Falcons would not even make the playoffs. Oh well.

14. Sour sugar - I really started to hate the taste of sugar in the eighties and it started with the 1982 Sugar Bowl. People always say Dan Marino couldn't win the big game but he did that day throwing a touchdown with 33 seconds left to help Pittsburgh knock off number 2 Georgia in what some consider the greatest bowl upset of all time. I think Oklahoma-Boise State was bigger but I'm depressed about now so I'll say it was this game.

13. Sourer Sugar - The 1983 Sugar Bowl pitted number 1 Georgia against number 2 Penn State. Georgia had the best player on the field in Herschel Walker but it didn't matter. Penn State won 27-23 and took the national title. Herschel would add salt to the wound by announcing that he was forgoing his senior year shortly after.

12. Packing it in - In 2011, The Falcons had earned the number 1 seed and were facing the hottest team in football, the Green Bay Packers. Home field meant diddly as the Packers whooped our birds 48-21. The author of the article wrote the Packers punter didn't even need to make the trip.

11. Gator-AID - Down 20-13 with 2:30 left in the 4th, Georgia's David Greene (Not to be confused with the fictional character from School Ties who didn't quite have Greene's arm or the "E" at the end of his last name) found Terrance Edwards wide open at the 30. The ball slipped through Edwards fingertips and Georgia's undefeated season was over and of course to the hated Gators. It was their only loss of the season and kept them out of the National Championship game.

10. Not a Jewell of a moment - July 27, 1996 should have been another great day at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta but instead a bomb when off and most importantly killed a person and injured over a hundred more but secondly put a damper on the entire Olympic Games. People blamed security guard Richard Jewel until finally investigators realized they were wrong. Jewel died at the young age of 44 from kidney issues and diabetes. Sadly he did not get the glory that he deserved. Eric Robert Rudolph was the real perpetrator. He was found years later. Some on the Olympic Committee famously said Atlanta was the worst Olympic Games. Our Mayor Bill Campbell was arrested in the early 2000's and served several months in prison for tax evasion. He was accused of many other illegal acts but those charges were later dropped. I would disagree that Atlanta was the worst Olympic site ever but I do agree that What-Iz-It or Izzy for short was the dumbest idea for an Olympic Mascot. To think people actually agreed on that one still befuddles me. I was embarrassed to be a marketing major.

9. 10-10-10 is the new 6-6-6 - Another game I sadly attended was Game 3 of the Division Series between the Braves and Giants. One of the things that really bothered me about Bobby Cox was his loyalty. When it mattered most, he looked less at how the player was playing then but how they played months or even years before. No better example was Brooks Conrad whose defense suffered at the end of the season and he'd already made an error in the first 2 games of the series. It wasn't like Conrad had Chipper Jones' bat. There was no reason to keep him in the lineup. Cox did and Conrad booted 3 balls that night and allowed 2/3 of the Giants runs to score in a 3-2 loss. Most of the damage came very late. Basically BC should not have played BC that night. But that's Bobby! And that's Atlanta sports. And of course they lost the series.

8. Don't Catch It! - Then there's the SEC Championship in 2012. Georgia was driving to win the game against Alabama. Down 32-28, instead of spiking the ball, Murray threw the ball which was tipped and Conley who was not the intended receiver caught it without thinking that the clock would run out. The clock indeed ran out. Alabama won the National Championship against Notre Dame a few weeks later. Georgia lost and it just happened to be in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta or should I call it the House of Horrors?


Of course now we catch one!

7. Oh Canada - In 1992, the Braves were in the World Series again but this time they found other ways to lose that were painful. Ed Sprague, a little known pinch hitter, hit a 2-run homer off of Jeff "Call me Bruce Sutter" Reardon to come from behind and tie the series at 1 game all. During the series, Devon White made a miraculous catch, Dave Winfield had a big hit and Otis Nixon for some reason bunted to make the final out of Game 6 and end the series. Braves lose again and as usual the final out came in Atlanta!

6 (tie). Not on the Mark - In 1996, the Braves were up 2 games to 1 on the Yankees at home when Braves All-Star closer Mark Wohlers came in. The Braves at one point had been up 6-0 in this game but Wohlers threw a "Please hit me hard" pitch to an average player Jim Leyritz and Leyritz tied the game with a 3-run bomb. The Braves would of course lose the game, lose the series and to this date have still not won another one. Leyritz eventually was arrested but it should have been for stealing our dreams.

6 (tie). Nique vs. Bird - May 22, 1988, Boston Garden, Hawks vs. Celtics Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Hawks had just blown a chance to clinch at home after winning in the Boston Garden in Game 5 for the first time in years. That day Bird and Nique battled especially in the 4th quarter. Nique ended up with 47 points to Bird's 34 points but of course in the end the Celtics won 118-116.

5 (tie). No Eugene - Though it didn't happen "in the game," it affected the biggest game in Falcons history to that point. Safety Eugene Robinson was arrested for soliciting an undercover cop in Miami. The Falcons would end up getting crushed the next day by the Broncos at the Super Bowl in January of 1999. Oh and the kicker? Earlier that day, Robinson received the Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award, given annually to a player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community. After the arrest, Robinson agreed to return the award. DUH!

5 (tie). No more Nique - On February 24, 1994 - the Atlanta Hawks traded superstar and legend Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning. The Hawks were number one in the East at the time but Manning did nothing to improve the team. Nique was the last superstar this franchise has had. He is an icon in this city. At least when the Braves traded Dale Murphy he was far past his prime. Nique was not.

4. FIXED - If there was ever a game that was fixed in any sport that Tim Donaghy did not referee, it was the Game 5 NLCS game between the Braves and Marlins in 1997. Gregg's strike zone that day for Livan Hernandez was so big that 5 Bartolo Colon's could have fit in it. The Braves lost the game 1-0. Gregg lost my respect that day as well. If it were the Yankees instead of the Braves, there's no doubt this would have been further investigated. The Marlins would go on to win the World Series. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR3eK5gCChM


McGriff the Crime Dog can spot a criminal!

3. The Infield Fly - You want to hear how karma even hates Atlanta. Here you go. Ted Turner fired Joe Torre as manager of the Braves in the early 80's. So in a single-elimination wild card game back in October of 2012, the umpires made one of the worst calls when Andrelton Simmons hit a pop up that the infielder didn't even get to. The bases should have been loaded with one out with the Braves trailing 6-3. The umpire called it an infield fly meaning Simmons was out and the runners would remain at first and second with two outs. Water bottles were thrown all over the field (I was there but restrained myself). The Braves lost and Joe Torre who now worked for MLB confirmed that the umpires got it right and did not allow a protest. Where did this happen "TED TURNER" Field? Karma is a mean lady! Congrats Mr. Torre!

2. Rise Up; Ummm, no - Up 28-3 in the 3rd quarter, most teams would start celebrating. Not Atlanta fans. The coaches made so many bonehead decisions to lose this game. I felt like I could hear Jason Bateman screaming "That's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off." It didn't. We lost 34-28 in OT because our coaches forgot how to run the ball. Another year. Another Falcon disaster.


Run the Damn Ball!

1. Run Lonnie Run! - The only thing that trumps that Falcon loss is Lonnie Smith's baserunning blunder, bringing the worst member of our starting rotation (Charlie Liebrandt) into Game 7 when it mattered and losing in extra innings to the Twins. That was Game 7 of the World Series after a Worst to First season that was the most exciting in Atlanta history. Don't worry Braves. I'm sure someone will trump this next year. The Falcons came damn close!


Pinch-runner maybe?

Honorable mention: I decided to give Georgia Tech a good one. How about having to share a national title because Colorado got credit for 5th Down against Missouri?

The Falcons selecting Jami Germain of Miami instead of a homegrown product who played about 70 miles away in Athens. Hines Ward was the next receiver taken by the Steelers and went on to win a Super Bowl and get into the Hall of Fame. Germain went to prison. I guess the Steelers won that deal.

Dale Murphy and RHP Tommy Greene were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jeff Parrett and Victor Rosario. The only bright spot was Murphy was past his prime but he is still the favorite of many Atlantans today including me. Some forget though that Tommy Greene throw a no-hitter and had some very good years in Philadelphia. Parrett and Rosario were busts. I know you're shocked.

Anyone that former Hawks GM Billy Knight drafted (Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Shelden Williams) should be considered a terrible sports moment in Atlanta and also who he didn't draft (Chris Paul).

The Atlanta Dream were swept both times in the WNBA Finals.

Just remember that the Atlanta United begins playing in the MLS next year. They have a lot to live DOWN to.

Wow, this was painful! See you next year!

Andy

My normal

I often wonder what it would be like to be "normal." Here are 25 reasons my normal is probably not your normal.



How important is being normal?

25. My normal requires allocating 2 to 3 hours of my day to CF my treatments beginning as early as 4:30 in the morning and finishing as late as 1 a.m.

24. My normal requires carrying a pill bottle with 30 to 40 enzymes to swallow.

23. My normal means receiving funny looks from wearing a mask on airplanes and at my children's doctor's appointments.

22. My normal means fearing germs like they were bullets fired from a gun. Hand sanitizer is my best friend.

21. My normal requires dealing with anxiety when packing multiple bags for as little as a 3-day trip. Traveling is a real workout for someone with cystic fibrosis.

20. My normal means being preoccupied with a doctor's appointment every 90 days for the rest of my life. I also went to a children's clinic until I was 30 years old.

19. My normal means living with suffocating lungs that burn like a four alarm fire.

18. My normal means worrying about power outages because they put a hold on doing my treatments. I now have a battery-powered vest and a generator for safety as well.

17. My normal means learning how to deal with IV and oral antibiotics when I'm sick.



When you look up "normal" in the dictionary, a person with CF is probably never shown.

16. My normal meant explaining to every woman I dated that having children would be a chore, hiding my therapy vest until I had the courage to explain the significance of it and masking pill-taking until I was comfortable enough to reveal my condition.

15. My normal means working every day in the gym and on the treadmill with no guarantees that it will prevent a life-altering infection.

14. My normal is having people refuse to tell me their problems because "they feel guilty complaining to me" because my problems are "much worse." By the way, it's not a competition. Worse or not, I still want to help. Worse is subjective anyway.

13. My normal is picking up the phone and telling someone I'm doing my therapy and hear the "worry" in their voices because they think they just made me sicker by momentarily interrupting my treatments. I actually take breaks to let my dogs out to pee so it's okay.

12. My normal means a coughing fit isn't simply a cold but a frantic call to my pulmonologist and months of taking antibiotics.

11. My normal is having a medicine cabinet that resembles the pharmacy in the back of CVS. I still think they should call me first when they have a backorder situation.



Andy, it's CVS. They need to call in an order.

10. My normal means seeing a therapist and a psychologist because of all the pain and angst cystic fibrosis has caused me. Though I have learned that there's no one or nothing to blame other than me. I'm responsible for my issues because I am the only one who controls how I handle them.

9. My normal means cracking a joke as a self-defense mechanism, using sports as an escape and treating dire statistics as motivation to fight my disease.

8. My normal is reading about studies to see if one would fit me and hoping it could finally be the breakthrough people like me have needed.

7. My normal is knowing I have a disease that has no cure and realizing that my older sister lost her life to it.

6. My normal is NOT walking into a smoky bar and having friends who totally understand and back me.

5. My normal is hearing from people who are sick that they don't want to come anywhere close to me as the "last thing they want to do is get me sick." Trust me. I appreciate it but sometimes it makes me feel like there's something so wrong with me. I mean there is but I guess I don't need the reminder.

4. My normal is telling the person working at the gate I'm flying out of that I need to board with special assistance so I can load the 50 pounds of medication I have with me into the overhead bin. I can't check that stuff. Sometimes it's hard because I go in right after people in wheelchairs. I see people look at me funny as if I'm parking in a handicap space. Little do they know that my handicap is mostly invisible until I put on my mask on the plane.

3. My normal is explaining to the person or persons next to me on a flight that I'm not contagious and just wear the mask for my protection. And because I'm a body double for Bane in the next Batman trilogy.

2. My normal is not being able to hang out with people who have the same disease with me because there's a potential for bacterial cross-contamination. I also can't hang out with people who smoke.

1. And finally, my normal is wearing a vest that has nothing to do with a tuxedo.

I used to feel like cystic fibrosis was making me look abnormal, alienated or just plain ugly. Like I said, I always wondered what it would be like to be normal. Now I see it differently. By being unique, I have an opportunity to make a difference and that's why every day I spread awareness about this disease. If just one person can learn a little bit more about cystic fibrosis and can help the cause, then being different is worth it. After all, if everyone had the same way of doing things, the same interests and the same beliefs, life would be quite boring.



I guess what I'm trying to say is "Embrace your abnormalities. Rather than hiding them, use them for good."

Now if only that were "normal."

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

My "Full-Time" Job

People often ask me what I do with myself these days since I'm "retired." Sometimes it makes me feel old and useless when the question is phrased in that manner. When I think of a retired person, I often think of someone who gets up at 10am, drinks his or her morning coffee, reads the paper, takes a nap in the middle of the day, plays some bingo and shuffleboard and goes to bed before the evening news. Perhaps I'm stereotyping a bit.


You won't find me here unless first prize is a bag of gummy bears.

The truth is I probably do more than you think. The truth is that each of you will probably be "retired" before me because I'll never stop working. My job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My occupation doesn't offer me vacation days but tends to provide me a lot of sick days. The benefits are difficult to find but they're there. My "job" has helped me to appreciate life more than most, to fight to stay alive and to make me a better me.

My full-time job is cystic fibrosis.


My work uniform

I figured I'd explain what it's like to be a dad, a husband, an author, a foundation head, a board member and a little league coach...who just happens to have a terminal disease.

Morning:

I usually wake up around 5:30am and do an hour of therapy which includes 50 minutes of vest treatments (I wear a vest that vibrates in order to bring up mucous from my lungs), 5 minutes of nasal treatments, 30 minutes of hypertonic saline aerosol (done at the same time as the vest), 15 minutes of Pulmozyme aerosol (also done at the same time as the vest) and two puffs of my Xopenex inhaler. I also spend 2 minutes using the Acapella device which requires breathing hard for 3 sets of 10 and spitting out the mucous after each set. Afterwards, I clean all of my nebulizers and the Acapella device which takes 15 to 20 minutes.

Next, Andrea and I get the kids ready for school and one of us takes them.


Our "normal" mornings

Afternoon:

Next, I work out by running 3 to 4 miles on the treadmill and then lifting weights for 30 to 45 minutes.

About 2 hours later, I do my second therapy treatment which is just like the first except I use my Afflovest (battery powered vest device) as opposed to my Hill Rom vest and I don't use Pulmozyme the second time around.

Then I go through my day for the next 5 or 6 hours while some days picking up my kids at carpool, working on my book and doing "normal stuff."


I don't live to work out. On the contrary, I work out in order to live.

Evening:

Finally, anytime between 6pm and 11pm, I do my third treatment of the day which is just like the first one as I use my Hill Rom vest. I only do Pulmozyme in the morning unless I'm really sick. I'm very lucky to have a wife who does so much for our kids. When I'm doing treatments, she is helping with homework or making them dinner. Occasionally, the kids and I work on their homework in my office while I do my treatments. Sometimes I need them to shout questions they may have because of the loud noise that comes from doing my machine. Still it's "normal" for us. One thing is for certain. I almost never miss an opportunity to put my children to bed. It seems silly but it is one of the highlights of my day. I know how fortunate I am to have them as well as their mother in my life.


Just a night out with me.

And also:

On the weekends, I only do the first and last treatments as I like to use the time I could have done the middle treatment to spend time with my kids.

Four times a week I add in the Neti Pot for my nose in the mornings and twice a week I take Miralax for my digestive system.

When I'm really sick, I add a couple of hours of IV meds to my day as well as oral antibiotics.

Every 4 to 6 months I do 30 minutes of TOBI aerosol twice a day.

I take 30 to 40 pills per day mostly with meals.


The best thing about an IV is getting rid of it.

Mental Health:

I also take an antidepressant and see a therapist and psychiatrist a few times a year to deal with my depression and anxiety which has greatly helped me to keep these health issues in check. Chronic disease is sort of like a shark and depression and anxiety are those remora fish that grab hold to them. It's hard to deal with a chronic disease day by day without some sort of mental fatigue.


I think I can relate to a shark.

My Clark Kent "normal" life:

I'm not saying that I focus on my health all day. I spend my time also on the National Alumni board for the Terry College Business School at the University of Georgia, the Adult Council for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Golf Tournament for my kids' school and I'm the National Chairman of Corporate Sponsorships for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I'm an author working on The Cystic Fibrosis Warrior Project and I head the Wish for Wendy Family Foundation and am currently starting up my own speaking business called Andy Lipman, LLC. I also coach my son's basketball team, my daughter's softball team and my son's baseball team. My most important two jobs though are dad to two awesome children and husband to my amazing wife.


Everyone with CF plays Clark Kent because our disease is often invisible.

In other words, I try to live a normal life though I'm sure most little league coaches don't wear the type of vest that I wear to my "job" everyday. I guess in that way I'm somewhat unique. No, I do not technically have a full-time job anymore. I left my 9 - 5 job at DiversiTech 2 years ago after doing it for 18 years. Sometimes having a chronic disease alone is a full-time job as you can probably tell. I'm sometimes amazed that I did all I did along with a full-time job for nearly two decades.

Cystic fibrosis is not an excuse to be a bad husband, a lazy dad, an unprepared coach or an ungrateful person. If anything, it gives me reasons to excel at all of these tasks. I'm very fortunate to be alive and I know that. When I was born, living past high school was considered a minor miracle. Today, I'm 43. If you'd told me when I was little that I'd have to do 2 to 3 hours of treatments a day to stay alive, I would have taken it. That's why it's hard for me to be bitter about my daily routine.


My prayers have been answered.

So what's retirement like?


I wish!

"All I can say is it's no game of shuffleboard."

Live your dreams and love your life!

Andy