The Sneiderman Trial Day 2

I'm here for day 2 of the trial. I can't comment on the case but I'm proud of Andrea. She's been amazing. This place is a media circus. I feel like I'm at the Super Bowl as far as all of the media trucks here. Thanks for all of the emails and texts checking on me. Keep the family in your prayers please.

Andy

Losing peers, going to trial and dealing with depression

Last Thursday was a tough day. I was doing some research on 2 people I hadn't talked to since I wrote my first book Alive at 25. I did some research on both Kathy Waldo, a Northeastern hockey player with CF, who was so strong and so determined. I loved the fact that we had the competitive sports side in common. At the time, both of us were doing pretty well with our CF. Jason Rossow was the other guy. He worked for the Charlotte Hornets before they moved to New Orleans. Thursday I realized that both died - Jason in 2001 and Kathy in 2009. Knowing that I have the same disease that killed them kind of scares me since we were all in about the same condition the last time we spoke more than 10 years ago.

This week I will be attending Rusty's murder trial. I'm there to support my friend Andrea and also to see that the man who killed my friend never is released from prison. My Andrea would be there except that she is a witness and therefore cannot see any of the testimony. I pray that the entire Sneiderman family will be provided with some type of closure when this is over but I'm sure it never gets easier especially with the loss of such an amazing father, son, husband, brother, friend and man.

So yes, I'm a bit down right now. I hasten to use the word depressed because I know that word can bring a panic to those people around me. I'm fine. I'm just dealing with some tough subjects. I think I'm also a bit down because I'm 3/4 of the way through my TOBI aerosol and I'm just exhausted. I'm still doing P90X and continue to stay around 179 pounds which is about 8 pounds less than where I was two months ago. I can really see a difference in how I look and I can feel a difference when I run and work out.

We went to a function at the Georgia Aquarium for the Atlanta Gene Screen which asks people to get screened so that genetic diseases can be prevented in our children (Picture of Andrea and I attached - she looks amazing, huh?). It was a top-notch event and I was proud of my sister and her boutique Raw Denim for taking part in the fashion show. Incidentally, my sister has been chosen to be on the reality show "Most Eligible Atlanta" on Bravo. I believe the series begins in March or April. Good luck Em!

Also at the Gene Screen, I was inspired by the entire Gold family especially Randy Gold who talked about his and his family's dealings with the genetic disease that has severely affected their beautiful daughter Eden. I definitely want to help out in future years.

We celebrated Avery's birthday last week. I can't believe she's already six. Time sure flies. I'm so proud of the little lady that she has become. She also donated canned foods to the Atlanta Food Bank that her friends brought to her birthday party. I can't take credit for that idea. That was Andrea's and it was a great one.

I hope everyone else is well. I don't know that I'll be blogging from the trial so I will talk to everyone on Thursday.

Andy
p.s. Please keep Andrea and the entire Sneiderman family in your prayers.

Happy Birthday Avery!

Happy Birthday to my 6 year old beautiful girl today. It was 6 years ago today that I received the greatest miracle of my life. Avery is turning into a beautiful little girl. She and Andrea are going to the food bank today to take canned goods to those who can really use them. I'm proud of Andrea for thinking of that idea as she has Avery's friends bring canned goods to her birthday so that Avery can realize how truly LUCKY she is. We are lucky too, sweetie.

Avery, we love you. Happy Birthday.

Love,

Daddy

P90X - Day 24 complete

I am 24 days into the 90 day P90X routine. I must say that I can see a difference in my core and even a little bit in my flexibility. I would recommend this routine to others. If you've never heard of it, P90X is a 40 minute or so workout that practices confusing your muscles. I'm still running, swimming and biking weekly but I'm doing P90X 7 days a week.

My health continues to improve. I am off of antibiotics and I feel very strong.

I'm also considering doing another video to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis. My thought was to do a video showing the routine a CF patient must go through on a day-to-day basis. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts.

I hope that everyone is well.

Andy

And so it begins...

Today begins the trial into the murder of my friend Rusty Sneiderman here in Atlanta. I do plan to attend the trial but not until after the jury selection which goes on this week.

I have had various media sources asking me to comment on the case but I have declined so far. I did send out a note about my book since the FDA approved a major drug for cystic fibrosis. Sadly, none of these same media participants even responded. It's sad when the media generally prefers to cover bad news and not potentially great news. I guess that's the world we live in but it's a shame. I think inspiring stories touch people's lives and it's sad that the media doesn't agree with that.

Anyway, Rusty's entire family is in my thoughts today and for the next several weeks. He was a great man who should still be here today spending time with his wife and children.

I hope all of you are well.

Andy

Thank you Michael J. Fox

Thanks to Michael J. Fox, my son has 1,929 skittles. Let me explain.

Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies and it starred Michael J. Fox. In the third installment (which I admit was not that good), they go back to 1885. For some reason, that number stuck in my head when I was at Donuts with Dads at Ethan's school and we were putting in guesses for a jar of skittles. I put in one guess at 1885. Andrea laughed at me and told me that was not going to be close and that I should have said around 1,000 which most of the dads did. I later found out that the dads put in multiple guesses so my one guess probably had no chance. We all know where this is going, right?

This morning I received the following picture from Andrea when she picked up Ethan saying "I will never doubt you again."

I was so excited when I talked to Ethan until he said "Daddy, I have a jar of M&M's!" I said "Buddy, they're skittles." He said in a more determined voice, "No, daddy! They are M&M's!" I decided since I won the jar, I'll leave it up to Andrea to let him down gently. Honey, we're even.

I hope all of you are well.

Andy

My health

Hey Everyone,

I hope that you're well. I've been working hard of late to get my health back where it needs to be. I've been doing more treatments, going in a little later to work and working on a new exercise program.

First off, I've been taking antibiotics twice a day, I've been doing my chest therapy 10 minutes longer at night. I've also been on TOBI so that adds another 40 minutes both in the morning and at night. It's funny. I was thinking about this the other day. While Ethan does not have CF, he does almost everything a person with CF does. He sits with me the whole time while I do my therapy and work out (Of course we play X-Box together so that helps). He brings me my pill bottle (child-lock but he never tries to open it anyway as he understands it's daddy's meds). He really helps me because I never feel that lonely feeling anymore in the mornings when I do my treatments.

I also started a new workout routine and am sixteen days in (I've attached a picture of my increased muscle mass). I'm not one to brag about anything but I am proud of the fact that I can attain this kind of strength especially when the image of someone with CF is generally skinny. Heck, I had arms like toothpicks in college. I am now a member of Beach Body or as you may know it, P90X. I watch the videos and work out with Tony, the instructor on TV. It's tough but I can already see a difference. When I got back from my cruise at the end of December, I was up to 188 pounds. This morning, I weighed myself and I weigh 179 pounds. I've changed my diet to going from 2,000 calories a day to 1,500. I'm trying to avoid protein bars during the day and I'm also drinking whey protein once or twice a day. I'm no longer stuffed up. I'm still running, biking and swimming at the gym. I've also added situps to the mix. I'm definitely faster than I've been in a long time. I'm hoping my increased speed will be an asset when softball season begins in March.

My health is something that is not easy to keep strong BUT it's worth it. There was a big breakthrough this week on the drug Kalydeco which will help some CF patients. There are more drugs that are coming out and some will help me. I can't afford to be sick and not allow myself to take advantage of these breakthroughs.

I hope everyone else is doing well.

Andy