Fast Times @ ‘Rona High
Thought I’d post something here to keep ya in the know about why I was working from home this week (in case you noticed; if you didn’t notice, then = yay!).
I have rheumatoid arthritis that affects my entire body. It’s not just joint tissue, it’s bones, organs, blood and even my voice. Have you ever noticed why I’m really raspy on the radio sometimes? Now you know why. My energy level has been zapped for a while. This is also very, very normal and has been under investigation since early 2018 by a number of specialists. No concrete conclusions but the obvious answer is: my disease.
Ok.
The drugs I take to protect my body against the auto-immune destruction of my joints, tissues, organs, etc. suppresses my immune system. It’s called Enbrel, you can Google it if you want to know more. It’s kinda sketchy, but hey, it works (for me).
The drugs come with side effects, too. Like Neutropenia.
“Neutropenia occurs when you have too few neutrophils, a type of white blood cells. While all white blood cells help your body fight infections, neutrophils are important for fighting certain infections, especially those caused by bacteria.”
I had routine bloodwork done on Monday and got some bummer results on Tuesday morning, which is why I decided to begin self isolating (round two). Results indicate I may have an “infection ?” (That’s literally what the report said). Pair that uncertainty with today’s pandemic and it was enough for me to book a COVID test.
I do not have any symptoms relating to COVID that I haven’t had (thoroughly documented by my care team) for years. My family is healthy. I am very much under the impression my disease is going after my blood and marrow (again) and the fatigue is also part of the nature of rheumatoid arthritis. My body gets tired fighting against itself while attempting to fight off outside infections which makes for a very exhausted Amy.
I am waiting for swab results which I anticipate to be negative. I’ll keep ya posted!
Check on your auto-immune friends. This pandemic has been a real jerk!
Wear a mask.
Wash your hands.
Be excellent to each other from 2m apart.
New Show in Winnipeg
Hey! My last update was in… July? June? It was fairly recent but there’s another radio related change in my life that i want to share.
Please allow me to don my bed Canadian Tuxedo as I announce…
I’M NOW HOSTING ROCK SHOWS IN MANITOBA & ONTARIO!
Sadly, my time at KROCK in Kingston has come to an end to allow me to focus on my new gig, weekdays 12-3PM Central at Winnipeg’s 92.1 CITI.
New Job Alert!!
Hey! Just a quick update to let you know that I have moved on from KiSS 105.3 in Ottawa, Canada. I was on air there for almost 5 years. I will be enterring my 5th year of service with Rogers Sports & Media this fall working for… dun dun DUNNNNN…
THE LEGENDARY CHEZ 106!
Rock radio is where I’m most comfortable, though my time in pop taught me that I might just be good at talking about anything at any time in any format!
I had been trying to get on CHEZ, well, my entire career up til this point so when I got the call it was something I JUMPED at (no pun intended).
If you’re interested in listening to my show, you can typically hear me (live) weekdays from 12PM to 3PM:
If you’re interested in checking out my longer midday show, you can do that, too:
Schedules may change throughout the course of summer as I cover for other DJs on vacation & they do the same for me.
Thanks for listening!
"I, Mother..."
AMY
This is the current physical representation of ‘me’.
At 34, I’m in awe of what this body can do and what it has done. This is the body that went through hell in it’s younger days. The body that was expected to be wheelchair bound at sixteen. The body that no one thought much of in terms of child bearing. The body that said a big “fuck you” to pretty much everyone and bore two bright, healthy babies. BIG babies at that.
I can’t believe it. I. CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. IT.
This is my fifth Mother’s Day and I want to say a very big ‘thank you’ to my body. Flawed and flawless. This body has done me well and owes me nothing. I sure hope to occupy it for a few more years to see what happens next.
CHRISTINE
Dearest Life Vehicle (aka my bod):
It’s taken a while for me to accept that you are So Much More than how you look. Stretching, changing, aging, I Know I’ve been hard on you. I’m sorry for picking you apart, comparing you to others. Yet you continue to thrive and work, I really do Love You, you’re so damn resilient ! Thank You for growing and carrying a wee human! A shoutout to my sweet and sensitive c-section scar, you are badass badge of honour. And yes you too, long nipples, you’re not exactly what you ‘used to be’ and that is AOK because I love you just the same, Thank You for feeding our babe as long as you did! And so now, dearest bod, let us join forces and ride out the rest of this incredible life experience together ️
TERESA
To this beautiful, strong and wise body of mine. You have carried my soul around for 40 years, and for that I am truly grateful. It has not always been an easy ride. We spent many years in conflict with me desperately trying to control how you looked, while desperately trying to ignore how you felt. I had no idea just how wise you were. How much you loved me. You have carried me on more adventures than I can name. You have received love and hugs and shown me passion. You have taught me pain which has reminded me of my strength. You have given me a beautiful son for which I will forever be grateful. I’m sorry. I’m sorry it took me so long to love you, but now that I do I will never stop. I accept you. I accept that you need me to fuel you and let you rest and In return you will allow me to continue growing. You will allow me to play and dance and work and do all of the things that I want to do. Thank you. I love you.
MONA
This is me
41. No makeup, hair tied away from tiny hands, functional breastfeeding top, leggings. If I had seen myself this way a year ago I would have cringed. Today I look in the mirror and I see a fiercely proud woman, unafraid of being in a state of motherhood. Thanks to this amazing body and everything she can do, I have a family, a means to care for them, and the confidence to be mother even when I don’t know what I’m doing. This body knows things I don’t. She knows her limits are farther than I think they are. She knows by instinct what to do when I logically don’t. She knows how to nurture her baby in ways I don’t. She knows how to be a woman separate from being a mom. She knows her strengths, her beauty and the ugly truth of life that is just so damn beautiful. Thank you for this gorgeous life.
SPOMENKA
Thank you body. You are a strong and capable masterpiece a work of art. Whatever had been thrown at us we have taken and adapted and grown into this work of art today and onwards. Thank you for 31 years and counting. I want to say thank you for working on the fight with me and always working hard. Sorry I judge us harshly and compare myself to others. You and me have done a lot.
SAARA
I’m about 6 months pregnant in this photo. This body would carry us through a smooth pregnancy and birth—it truly was the most remarkable and singular experience of my life.
This body did everything it needed to keep us healthy through to full-term (and then some), it got us through a long labour, and my postpartum recovery, it sustains us and continues to provide us both with comfort.
No journey to and through motherhood is simple or easy but I’ll forever regard my body with awe and reverence, and I really couldn’t ask for more.
JENNY
Thank you for being my everything. Thank you for comforting me when I’m sad, sometimes I’m not good to you and let you get the worst of me. Thank you for being resilient, you underwent two very intense c-sections and still here you are in one piece. Thank you for being my home, you let me decorate you however I please and you never tell me how much you may not like it. As we grow together on our journey it is time I take a turn in our path and accept that I need to be kinder to you and continue loving you. You have always been there for me and now I need to be there for you.
If you put the needs of others above your own, you are a mother.
Being a mother is something YOU do. It’s not, in my opinion, something your body does. Of course there are times when I get feeling down over stuff I physically cannot do, so this day serves as an important reminder to appreciate what has been done.
I put the call out over social media asking for more Moms to join in on this post and the response was fantastic! Interest was high, then came the premise: “it’s a Thank You note to our bodies. So I want people to share a picture of their bodies and a note saying thanks. However you are comfortable. The picture is JUST you. No kids.”
That’s when the interest dried up. Some saying that the concept was “scary. I don’t know if I can do it”, and “I’m incredibly bigger than normal now”, “I hate my body and don’t even like when my husband can see it.”
Wherever you stand in terms of your body, please make sure you say ‘thanks’ to it once in a while. If you are deeply unhappy with your body, I strongly encourage you to talk about that with someone. Explore that. Work on it. Our bodies are miracle machine. A mother’s especially. They owe us no favours and yet, look what they’ve done! Mother’s Day is a real, raw date of self-reflection to me. I don’t always like what I see but I can appreciate the magic. It is there. It’s in my son and daughter. It’s in yours, too.
Happy Mother’s Day.
The AV Social Hour: 'Ghost Stories'
Been feeling haunted lately? You’re not alone. Ask and you shall receive… The Thursday, May 7th edition of our weekly Social Hour (live chat) had a theme and that theme was ‘ghost stories and spiritual encounters’. I didn’t even get to all of your stories, though some are available here and here.
One of the stories submitted by Mandy on Facebook includes pictures, so with her permission I am including that story here:
MANDY’S ENCOUNTER
“My fiancé and I went to Fort Henry in October for their haunted walk. A few things happened but the best one was coming into the bakery and all of a sudden i started getting dizzy and kept burping like crazy like I was ready to puke. Well, come to find out the spirit that died in that kitchen was not a happy one and seeing as I am an empath, I guess I was the only one she could get too. After leaving that kitchen, we went back outside. I felt this feeling come over of me and my fiancé had the camera. This is the picture he captured just as I walked out the door