Click upon any title for information about myself.
I was born on April 14, 1985, to loving parents and two brothers. Everything seemed quiet at the onset, but by days end my health took a turn for the worst when I began to vomit uncontrollably. Leaving a lifetime scar, my newborn body underwent emergency surgery, which thankfully cured the problem. This health issue, Pyloric Stenosis, eventually seemed pale in comparison to what I would soon face. Regardless, as a baby I enjoyed all the typical rituals of being a child at that age. One thing that did separate me from any normalcy was that I had developed infantile seizures soon after the stomach operation. By eight months of age I was diagnosed with the incurable and devastating disease known as Tuberous Sclerosis. Tests found that several areas of my brain had multiple growths. The doctor’s prognosis for me was horrifying and hopeless for my family to hear.
The magnitude and frequency of the seizures became greater as I grew older. As a result of the illness my developmental skills began to slow down a bit. By the grace of God, many of the extreme symptoms from Tuberous Sclerosis ended when I turned three. I became a walking miracle who had gone against the medical rulebook at that time. I was not in an institution nor was I dead. After the symptoms of Tuberous Sclerosis had ceased, my family and my little body were in recovery mode. I became a typical young boy who was always in awe of the changing world around me. Unfortunately, another blow to my body occurred just one year after the last major symptoms from the disease. I was hit front sided and nearly run over by a car, but thankfully I was able to recover relatively quickly. When I turned five years of age my family relocated to a brand new homestead upon a cow pasture overlooking Mount Washington far into the distance. It was an ideal location for my parent’s rapidly growing family. My love for meteorology was sparked at this spot after witnessing three historic storms within a short period, which included the Superstorm of 1993. This newfound love for weather eventually developed into much more while I attended a Christian school through 1997. This school was directly affiliated with a church that my parents had been attending since 1976. Academics excelled rapidly at the school in which I obtained high honors more often than not. The year of 1997 was a new beginning for my life. The family left the church due to disagreements with their philosophy. My brothers and I were extremely sheltered from the rest of the world so we experienced things in a new and sudden way. Several months before leaving, I began to have epileptic episodes that were a result of Tuberous Sclerosis. Shortly afterwards I underwent two major laser surgeries where the focus was to rid away growths and rashes that were on my face due to the disease. Up to this time, they had been the center point of intimidation. Recuperation from the surgeries lasted for over three months.
The years of judgment and ridicule due to my illnesses caused me to sink. I prayed to God for some help. He answered my prayer when I heard a song by Mariah Carey, which was titled "My All." Mariah wrote this song through her personal experience of feeling alone, which was exactly what I was feeling. Finally, for the first time in my life, I had connected with someone with whom I could relate with. Throughout the following years I quickly became a loyal fan of Mariah Carey and remained impacted and changed by her songs. I was blessed to live at the ocean’s edge in Pine Point, Maine for a few years during the turn of the new millennium. My love for meteorology began to grow even more as I witnessed spectacular coastal storms that few people would get to see in person. It was at this time that I developed the first version of this web site. Just like today, I uploaded live weather data from my weather station right on the ocean. My family moved back inland to North Conway in 2001. I then transferred the weather station to that area and officially established this web site. Years of epileptic events since 1997 exploded into a string of moderate to severe grand mal seizures during 2001. I was hospitalized for two of the events. I also had dizzy spells that consisted of slurred speech, weakness, and much more. At the same time, persistent severe pains prompted doctors to complete many medical tests on me. I was diagnosed with a new, incurable disease known as Polycystic Kidney Disease. With problems already arising, this life-threatening illness was affecting both kidneys that had growths "eating away" at the organs. Although my health plunged rapidly, my meteorology career propelled to great heights. After being featured in the Conway Daily Sun, I had been accepted as a two year intern at the Mount Washington Observatory’s research facility. The Daily Sun also allowed me to write a weekly weather editorial for its newspaper. My spot at the Conway Daily Sun enabled this web site to receive new viewers and obtain thousands of hits each month. In addition, I taught a class on meteorology in October to twenty-five professionals of Maine Medical Center for the honorable Doctor Hubble of SOLO Wilderness Medicine.
Being that I graduated from high school one year early, I had plans to begin my first college semester at Lyndon State College in September of 2003. The purpose of this was so that I could obtain a degree in meteorology. Unfortunately, living in dorms was not suitable for my medical condition because occasional fire alarms would spark major seizures. My stay in the hospital lasted longer then my ability to attend class during the first two weeks of September. I returned home two days before meeting Mariah Carey in Manchester. Thereafter, I began at the University of Southern Maine (USM) when the spring semester for 2004 began. My health remained extremely volatile throughout much of 2004 since I continued to have various epileptic seizures ranging from grand mal status to drop events. The support that I had from my family was truly remarkable. Their incredible assistance, along with Mariah’s music and my golden retriever, Shadow, was key to my life. I had the opportunity to take a vacation to Hawaii for three weeks. The time in Maui was particularly healing for all of us. During March 2005, some local Christian leaders told me statements that regarded my illnesses and epilepsy in which I wholeheartedly disagreed with. Unrelated to the incident I was flown into the hospital later in the month. I had suffered yet another explosive seizure in which the recovery process lasted for a few weeks. Things began to turn around one month later when I received an invitation to meet with Mariah Carey to celebrate the release of her new album. On April 11, 2005, I was interviewed by Tony Perkins of ABC’s Good Morning America, which led into Mariah Carey’s concert in Times Square. After having VIP access to her concert I was able to see her appear on MTV TRL. I then personally met with Mariah Carey for a few minutes before her CD signing in Manhattan. Like previous times, she was so gracious and continued to show much concern for my well-being. The wonderful memories that Mariah Carey placed in my life carried me through each and every day that passed. Several months upon return from Time Square, imaging tests suggested that fast growing tumors on my kidneys were malignant. The months that passed were extremely stressful. Extended family lent out much support while a very special person sent the greatest gift of all, the Bible, and wrote me her favorite passages. Thankfully, a biopsy test indicated that the tumors were cancer free which was a prayer answered by God from many individuals. Shortly after, I was presented with the opportunity to participate in a two-year FDA study dealing with Rapamycin. I had a special genetic make up regarding all the illnesses and the tumors on my kidneys. The study was overseen by doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The drug had shown to produce positive results by shrinking tumors on kidneys when utilized on certain types of flies, blowfish, and rats. My stint with the Rapamycin study began in April 2006. Unfortunately, I had developed many side effects including fevers, mouth and back sores, as well as increased seizure activity. During October I had a noteworthy seizure in calculus class and was rushed to the hospital. A few weeks later the episode repeated, but with greater intensity. On November 08, 2006, I had a seizure even worse then the previous two events, which was due to an alarm during a bomb threat at USM. None of the normal medications worked, which forced doctors to utilize propofol to paralyze my body and mandated life support. Once under control they eventually put a breathing tube down my throat and kept me in the hospital for several days. I unfortunately dropped out of the rapamycin study the day of November 8th. It was thought by some that the rapamycin drug decreased my body’s response to important seizure medications such as Diastat. Shortly after stopping Rapamycin I returned home in time for Thanksgiving. I participated in two primetime interviews with local NBC and ABC affiliates. The purpose was to put a personal perspective on helping to stop multiple bomb threats that disrupted and nearly ended my life. In the meanwhile, God blessed my family and me with a spectacular piece of land in Chatham, New Hampshire that had been purchased on September 11, 2006. The 33 acres of land contained two large fresh water ponds, 1,300 feet of frontage on a classic New Hampshire brook, and a 150 year old cabin. This land became a refuge for us through all the problems that were going on with my health. It also placed upon our hearts that God continued to hold our lives in the palm of his hands. My father employed helpers to renovate the century old cabin for us. Thereafter, the start of a new retirement / vacation home began to be built. The first half of 2007 brought improvement to the magnitude and frequency of my seizures. I discovered a wonderful neurologist (Dr. Heidi Henninger) in our local area who put me on new medications. Unfortunately, early summer tests indicated that the Rapamycin study did not have positive long term effects on my kidneys. In fact, I learned that the tumors were now growing with a vengeance. The Dog Days followed with the passing of a loved one, another ambulance run to the hospital, as well as a case of severe discrimination. God knew that our land near Evans Notch would be direly important since it became a place of refuge for not just animals like moose and deer, but also for me. At this time I still face two difficult challenges. The first being tuberous sclerosis, which produces many problems including full blown tonic clonic seizures that begin and have no end. These seizures originate in the frontal lobe section of my brain. Such massive episodes require expert medical help. It is occasionally necessary for ER doctors to paralyze my body with propofol in order to stop the events. The second challenge is that many fast growing and aggressive tumors are presently overtaking my kidneys. The likely method to stop this is through two separate kidney operations that are often long lasting. Please keep me in your prayers. |
God brought two important things into my life to help me get through much turmoil. The first was that I was given a Golden Retriever puppy on my twelfth birthday. We quickly developed a very deep bond. He became an abundant part of my life and was my only buddy in many instances. His unconditional love was not just towards me, but also my entire family. However, even with the arrival of a furry friend I still felt sad.
My health took another turn for the worst during the four months following November 2002. I was hospitalized three times. Thankfully, I was granted the ability to personally thank and meet my life-long inspiration, Mariah Carey, in Bloomington, Minnesota. She was incredibly sincere, gracious, and humble towards my family and me. In addition to her music, the real person that is Mariah Carey richly blessed me and changed my life at the meeting. Afterwards, I became a mini celebrity and was interviewed by Al Roker of the Today Show, featured three times on NBC Access Hollywood, and was a guest weather reporter for RSN TV. Mariah Carey stayed in touch through video and eventually met up with me again in Manchester, NH on September 21, 2003.