Two weeks ago, my heart exploded, but in a good way! My son, Ian, his wife Nephtys, and my grandson, Thiago, came to Hawaii from Orlando for a visit. Ian was once stationed in Hawaii, serving in the Navy, where he met his wife Nephtys. After getting out of the Navy, Ian became a warrant officer and a helicopter pilot. He is currently working out of Jacksonville, Florida, but living in Orlando.

Having Ian and his family here for a few days really lifted my spirits. I thought I would never have the opportunity to run or play with my grandson, who just turned two, like I’ve had the chance to do with my now nine-year-old grandson, Caden.



However, with my new power wheelchair, we were able to spend a day at Magic Island at Ala Moana Beach Park chasing birds, with Thiago running and with me “running“ alongside him using my power wheelchair. Thiago was able to jump on my lap, allowing me to roll around the park with my precious grandson on my lap. The joy and smile on his face will forever be burned in my memory, and my heart was full of love and joy enjoying every moment of their visit.



After a few days of enjoying their company, they flew to Maui for a couple of days of vacation and to celebrate Thiago‘s second birthday. Their plans were to return back to Oahu and spend a few more days with me and Jen.

Those plans were abruptly altered when Jennifer and I tested positive for Covid. Covid hit Jennifer first, and she tried her best to self isolate, only coming out double masked to help me. Jen is my caregiver, and I depend on her for almost 100% of the things I need to do. Just one day after she started to experience her symptoms, I started to experience Covid symptoms testing positive just one day after she tested positive.

Having ALS, Covid presents a very difficult situation for me as it had the possibility of severely impacting my lungs. There were many moments of anxiety when the extreme coughing created a shortness of breath for me. I’m already experiencing weakness from ALS, which was only magnified by the weakness that is associated with Covid.
Jennifer had it doubly hard, as not only has she had to endure Covid but was not able to rest as much says she had to take care of me at the same time.
Thanks to the generosity of Jennifer‘s parents, friends, and family, food and medicine were dropped off at our door throughout our week of enduring Covid.


I am pleased to report that both Jennifer and I finally tested negative yesterday, and are both recovering and on the mend.

Jen and I were both fully vaccinated, and I was double boosted. We were both very careful these past two years, but it goes to show that Covid will find away to infiltrate all the safety precautions that one takes.
I want to thank Jennifer for being such a great caregiver, and partner during these tedious days of Covid. And I want to thank all of you who have sent good wishes via this platform, text messages, or for sending your good thoughts and aloha during this time.
We are both out of danger and safe, and both Jennifer and I continue to get stronger every day.
Glad to hear you are both on the mend. Also, I saw first hand how happy you were to have “la familia” around you a few weeks back. The perfect booster. Looking forward to having you back at HPR. Abrazos Hermano and Jen too!
I am so, so glad to hear that you are now COVID-negative! I guess that infection will boost your antibodies even more, so COVID will not invade your body again. YES!
And I am even more glad to hear that you had such fun with your 2-year-old grandson. I’m here in Anchorage with 1.75-year-old granddaughter. What FUN!
Glad you are both better and you got to spend at least a little time with your son and his family. Continuing to keep you and Jen in our prayers.
All the best to you and Jen. ❤️
Damn double-whammy! Glad to hear you’re both on the upside. Grandkids work wonders for ya…and wear ya out!
So glad to hear you are on the other side! What a triall for both of you. The photos of you with your grandson are priceless. There’s nothing better to boost your spirits iand your health than that!
Clickbait! Lol! Those pics with Thiago are pure joy! So happy you all spent quality time together before the cooties hit! Happy you are both on the mend! Hugs and love 💕
so relieved to hear that you are better– thank you for sharing those beautiful photos and for sharing your life with us. Take care, Jose and Jennifer!