They Call Me Galvez

It’s been a crazy ride!

2007-2008  Thank yous

2009 Thank yous

Got busy, so I didn’t have time for 2010 and 2011 videos… 2012 is going to be a great year!

Today I got to see a live studio taping of the Soup at E! Studios in Los Angeles!  Was pretty cool!  I met Ken Baker, E! Chief News Correspondent at a “Head to Hollywood” fundraiser (his old brain tumor nonprofit) before mAss Kickers Foundation was created.  We’ve kept in touch since then.  That event was the first time I met young guys with brain tumors. For the first time since being diagnosed with a brain tumor,  I didn’t feel alone as a brain tumor patient!  Was cool finally meeting people like me in person!  I instantly bonded with the other brain tumor survivors there.  It was a great feeling that I will never forget.  Participating in that event was a big reason why I started MKF!  One of my survivor buddies let me crash at his place in orange county and we drove up to LA from there!  We got to see the taping and then hung out with Ken for a few minutes in the E! Offices.  Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat and just relaxed/people watched in this unique city.  Pretty cool.  Some people love it.  Some can’t stand it.  I fall somewhere in between.  Before physical therapy school, I lived in Los Angeles with three other guys in a small apartment in Los Angeles.  2 students, and 2 young “professionals” eager to grow up… Good Times – like a bad sitcom… HAHAHA!  Some great yet immature stories came out of that crowded little apartment.

Anyways, we also got to meet Joel McHale (host of the Soup) after the show.  Donald Faison (Turk from Scrubs) and Zachary Levi (Chuck from the NBC show “Chuck”) were there for the taping as well!

We had a great time.  We will def have to go up there again!  Next time we’ll try to see a different show!

Found out today that I’m walking faster, but not fast enough yet.  My walking speed is still slow and I think my walking endurance is impaired, but I am much closer to walking than I have been in a long time!  Endurance will come with repetition and proper diet…   Walking speed is something I can improve.  We re-assessed things today, I walk ~30 feet in ~17 seconds with my crutches.  To be able to cross a busy intersection at a crosswalk, I should be moving at ~9  seconds… I think the crutches are slowing me down.  STABILITY/ CONFIDENCE vs SPEED/ INSTABILITY. It’s time to be fearless!  hee hee…

I restarted Physical Therapy on Wed.  For about a month, I’ve been doing rehab on my own.  The last time I had official rehab I had an epiphany.  Hip control.  It makes total sense now!  We reassed everything and I’m walking much smoother now that I focus on “pushing” my left ASIS (top-front hip bone) forward when walking.  Now it’s just a matter of doing it without support.  I can practice this in parallel bars or even walking around my bed.  Progress has been made, now I need to fine tune everything.  The ataxia in my left leg is still a problem (altho better controlled) and I’m expecting problems with my walking endurance.  Perhaps it’s time to get off the exercise bike and start using a treadmill… I’ll have to experiment with that…

I’m very excited for some of the things mAss Kickers Foundation has planned in 2012.  We will have interns for the very first time in 2012!  I’m very excited about two unique new events MKF has planned in San Diego this year and we will have a presence at at-least two national conferences in the next few months!  If things work out, we will pursue office space in 2013.  Keep an eye on mAss Kickers Foundation in 2012, we plan on “moving up to varsity” this year… stay tuned!

Random thought… I seem to remember Delta (Δ) as a symbol for change in scientific terms. I want mAss Kickers Foundation to stimulate change in tumor/cancer advocacy. (Ironically, I was also a part of the Delta Class in the beginning of Lambda Phi Epsilon at the University of Michigan.) Some of the things mAss Kickers Foundation has planned in 2012 are very different from the typical tumor/cancer events. We stress UNITY in everything we plan.  I believe a different approach on survivorship through research needs to be created to more effectively MANAGE these diseases. A “cure” for tumors/cancer is a great goal and should continued to be pursued. I think that to address the needs of those of us currently afflicted with these diseases, MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS should be the primary goal of “tumor thrivership.” I think that only through a combination of scientific research and survivor advocacy will we be able to understand these diseases in order to effectively combat them.  Somewhere the purpose/understanding of scientific research got lost.  I think the common man has to understand these diseases before we can efficiently fight them!

I’ll get off my soap box now.  I spent Christmas in Michigan for the first time in years. It was a little different… Lots of kids. My cousin from San Francisco brought the entire family. Her husband and two little ones! It is so strange seeing people I “grew up” with as parents. Even weirder seeing my physical therapy school classmates as parents. These were the same people I used to screw around with in the back of the classroom. It made me realize that change is inevitable, but you can be prepared for it! Most of my friends have moved on with their lives. My 20 year high school reunion and 10 year PT school reunion will be next year! It will be very interesting to see how lives have unfolded. I thought that by now I would have opened up my own PT clinic and started my family. Didn’t quite workout that way. Being back home in MI made me realize that things will never be the same and things don’t always work out how you plan. Change is the only constant in life, but it is up to the individual to control their reaction to that change. A long time ago, I decided that the brain tumor was not going to control my life. It hit me pretty hard and knocked me down, but it didn’t knock me out. I got up, and now it is my turn to fight back!  My personal goals and objectives have changed in the past 6 years!  I view change as an opportunity to evolve. Some people don’t like change, but it is something that we all have to deal with in order to evolve.

Such a busy weekend!  I went to the K.A.M.P. (Kuya/Ate Mentorship Program) Maligayang mixer last night!  It’s a mentorship program for junior high and high school Fil-Am students.  I’ve never heard of anything like that!  I guess it’s like a big brother/big sister program for Filipino-American kids… pretty cool!  Growing up in Michigan, there is a very small but close knit Filipino Community.  My parents weren’t too active in it, but we had a core group of Filipino Families we spent birthdays/holidays with.  My curiosity about my own family history has been growing.  I was pretty involved in the Asian American/Fil-Am Scene in college at the University of Michigan, but I’ve gotten away from that as I pursued my physical therapy career.  Now I’m on a different career path, but I think it is time to jump back into the world of Fil-Am issues with a different perspective.

I’ve been pretty busy though… A student from USC came down today.  She filmed a buddy and me about our young adult survivorship experiences!  Should be eye-opening!  I can’t wait to see the finished project!  Got a few things up my sleeve next year. 2012 is going to be a great year!  STAY TUNED!

This old video: tells the story of my personal journey, explains why I do the things I do, and previews my future plans.  Much has happened since the video. This was shot 3 years ago in 2008 before everything got started: mAss Kickers Foundation, Awakening:  Becoming A Brain Tumor Thriver, public speaking around the country, getting involved with brain tumor causes, getting involved with Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship advocacy, getting involved in the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, etc…

Please join me in supporting newly diagnosed patients AND their Loved Ones through mAss Kickers Foundation!

1. make an online donation
2. create your own personal mAss Kickers Foundation fundraising page
3. FORWARD THIS LINK TO AT LEAST TEN PEOPLE TO LET THEM KNOW WHY MASS KICKERS FOUNDATION WAS CREATED!!!

I’m so happy to find Spotify.  I love seeing other people’s playlists!  I’ve caught my friends red-handed listening to Cher and other random stuff.  But the other day, I heard a song that conjured up memories of awkward junior high school dances.  Love Bites was the ultimate junior high slow dance song.   Not only was it the longest slow song, but theoretically it represented a time when you could be alone with the girl you had a crush on.  Of course in reality it didn’t always work out that way!  Most of the time I’d be too shy to ask my crush to dance and just end up messing with my friends already dancing on the dance floor!  My plans of being the next Johnny Depp or New Kid on the Block were always thwarted when I realized that I’d be smaller than most of the girls my age!  Occasionally some brave group of girls would find me and my friends screwing around in the corner of the gymnasium and ask us to dance. When I did finally make it out to the dance floor with my partner, we’d spend 4-7 minutes laterally shifting our weight from leg to leg in complete silence with no eye contact until the song ended!  Thanks. Good times.  I’d like to say that things have improved since then, but sadly they haven’t and I have regressed.  I have made it out to the dance floor a few times at weddings and parties. I’m happy to say at least it’s not as awkward as it used to be…  FYI: I HAD NO IDEA WHAT “MAKING LOVE AND LOOKING IN THE MIRROR” MEANT BACK THEN…

10 months ago I noticed there is very little knee flexion in my left leg as I am weight bearing on it. I’m so used to keeping it extended to try to control the ataxia that now I always walk with the leg stiff.  I’m ashamed to say I’ve been neglecting my therapy for all my “extracurricular” activities.  I can get around slowly on crutches, but I really want to get ride of them.  It’s very easy to neglect my own personal rehab in lieu of everything I’m doing now with mAss Kickers.  There aren’t enough hours in the day!  I wish I had the energy to do EVERYTHING I want to do!  At least I have an idea of what I can do to address those impairments.  I just have to start doing it… I started going to the pool in the summer, but I never went consistently.  I wish I could establish a routine, but it is so hard when new things get thrown at me!

Earlier this year I also blogged about impaired hip strategy.  We tried a couple new things today walking… anterior left hip placement when stepping forward and increasing the gait speed with a narrower base of support.  Very interesting.  My left hip still doesn’t move forward enough when walking/stepping. I don’t think I’m putting enough weight on my left leg when stepping or loading on it.  To explain the difference in size of my legs, either my left leg muscles have atrophied or the calf muscles in my right leg have hypertrophied.  Loading on my left leg and anterior movement of the left hip are now things I need to focus on.  Things are starting to make sense.  Now I just have to find time to rehab…   I can feel myself starting to remember how to walk without crutches.