Wednesday, April 9, 2014

A great quote

"Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe their final breath. And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others and makes them bleed deeper in something that's larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized by the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him, and make the running the man did live forever."
-The Ultimate Warrior 


Over the past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about what I have done and what I should do.

I think this quote sums it up pretty well.  Everyone's time here is finite, no matter your health, your genetics, or how well you take care of yourself.  To ensure you leave a legacy, you have to reach others on a level that runs near the soul of a person.  

This cannot be done by direction, but instead through action.

Do something that you love, become great at it, and have a positive impact on another persons life. Then your legacy will carry on.

I am working on mine, what will yours be?

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Its been a while so lets catch up - sorry this is a long one


RIP Martin Joseph Garvey 1/5/61 - 3/16/14 - a picture of him doing what I think he truly loved to do (Shea Stadium 1983)

I know I have not published since December, a lot has happened since then.

On March 16, 2014 my father passed away while in hospice.  In mid February he took a sudden sharp turn for the worse and rapidly progressed until his passing.  He had a fall and was taken to the hospital, and with their help we were able to have him eventually transferred to a nursing home.  He was due to have both physical and occupational therapy, and in mind I thought it was a wonderful thing for him.  However when they took his vitals before his first therapy session they found his BP and o2 levels were dangerously low and he was back in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia.  It was there that we found out he was no longer able to swallow and the decision was made to forgo a feeding tube.  A few days later he was transferred to hospice, and my uncle called me to tell me they were also stopping fluids.  Kate and I decided to change our plans and go to visit him on Saturday March 15.  It was a decision I am happy we made, he appeared comfortable and resting, I put a few ball games on since this is mostly what I remember doing with him.  I was able to hold his hand and say good bye before we left.  He passed away that night.

As prepared as I thought I was for the news I knew would one day come, when I did get the phone call it hit harder than anything I have dealt with in my life so far.

The services were held in the city and he was laid to rest out on Long Island, friends of my father I remember from when I was young came and it was great to see them, I am also very lucky to have the love and support of not only my wife but of her family all of whom came into the city for the wake and to the graveside.  Their support meant more than any words can say.

Making his passing even harder was that his rapid, sudden decline may have been the result of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, an incurable and invariably fatal disease, one that may have been inherited from his father and that may have been past down to me.


In other much happier news Kate and I are expect our first baby, a son.  He is due in mid-June.  We are both very excited, and scared to death at the same time.  Kate is doing great, both her and the baby in good health, I wonder if exercise and a good diet have something to do with it


6 months pregnant and doing the Crossfit Open

7 Months - Breaking in the nursery



No more squats -




After all of that squatting seems almost inconsequential.  But I did squat every day through all of January, I even made to a squat rack through 2 separate snow storms, and for 2 other days I was getting my Level 1 Coaches Certificate in NJ, which I past and recently have begun coaching at Crossfit Revenge.



The last 2 weeks of January my back did not feel right, but I tried to push through it. I squatted each day and did other workouts 4-5 days a week, it got progressively worse, and finally the day of January after my squat when I got home that day, my back was shot, I had all of the symptoms from when I herniated 2 disks, and I had to make the hard decision to stop squatting, really any exercise since that day.

I was really upset with myself over this, I thought I was taking care of my body, I thought I would be able to continue, but when the pain down my leg returned, and I was unable to stand up straight or bend over with out pain, I had to realize I was going to severely injure myself.

All of the money donated will, as promised, be divided between the Alzheimer's association and the MS society

I want to continue this blog, but instead of making it about me squatting each day, it will be about health, wellness, how normal people with office jobs, and families and homes to care for, can lead a healthy lifestyle.

Ok, you've reached the end.
To sum it up, my dad past away
I am having a baby boy
I am a crossfit coach
I hurt my back

I am going to keep writing in hopes of helping people get more information for a healthier life style