A general thank you to everyone

I was just thinking today about how truly lucky and how fortunate I am. I have had some health issues and other struggles. I would not wish my current physical condition on my worst enemy.

That being said, I don't tend to pity myself and I am happy to have been able to push through my depression. I can't do everything that I once did, as easily or as automatically as before. I am not in a coma or bedridden. I still have a lot of life left (hopefully) and I have a decent quality of life. I have come a long way since all of this started back in 2020.

I have a beautiful and loving wife and daughter. My wife is completely supportive of me and pushes me hard when I need it. She has more faith in me than I do in myself. She has taken in sickness and in health literally. She has had plenty of opportunities to give up and walk away. 

To be honest, I wouldn't blame her. However, she has stayed with me throughout it all. I love her more than words can express and I am extremely lucky to have her in my life. Eliana Valentina Horton Mojica has been through so much in her four short years on this planet. She is kind, empathetic, loving and helpful. She doesn't treat me any different than any other able bodied father. I love her to pieces and having her was the best decision that I ever made. 

I have an amazing family (both close and extended). Both of my parents have been extremely supportive and helpful to me with everything. Both of my brother's as well. Not everyone can count on their family so I am extremely fortunate in that regard. I have been blessed with great in laws and an amazingly supportive group of friends. I consider myself much better off than some. I wish that this would have never happened to me but it did. I can't change it. 

It has allowed me to take the little victories as they come. This condition has been the hardest on me personally. However, it indirectly affects everyone in my life. 

I also want to give a special shoutout to my in laws and my brother in law and two sister in laws. I can't forget about my sister in laws boyfriend Fran either. None of them asked for this but they have all been helpful and understanding. They have taken care of me and Eliana and never complained. Ana's boyfriend Fran didn't realize that I had medical issues when he started dating Ana but he has been totally supportive and helpful. My in laws treat me like I was their own son and they have been amazing. Not having my own family close by, this has made me feel extremely lucky. Not everyone is as lucky as I am with their inlaws. 

I do not take mobility or life in general for granted anymore. I can only continue trying my hardest to get back to normal life. I am very lucky not to have a degenerative condition. My condition should only continue to improve with time and effort. I could be content with my current condition. I could live a passable life in my current condition. 

However, to do so would be leaving me more dependant on Jenny and Eliana than they deserve. Both of them have been through so much and they deserve a chance at a normal life. They can't take advantage of that chance unless and until I get back to normal life. They are my two biggest and best reasons to stay motivated and keep trying to progress to hopefully one day get back to normal life. However even if I never do, I still consider myself blessed, loved and lucky. 

Be sure to hug your family and friends tight. None of us knows how long that we will have on this earth. Every day is a blessing. So this is my general thank you letter to anyone that takes the time to read this. I love each and every single one of you. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Our cruise

I will attempt to chronically explain our recent cruise by destination. We flew into Milan Italy. By this time on our trip, I was already getting sick. I was cold, tired and wet from the rain. I had a fever, chills, a cough and a headache along with a runny nose. I ate a cold, soggy pizza and retired directly to bed. Genova was where we boarded the ship. I was still running a fever and now I had started coughing. I went to sleep early in our cabin. The cabin that we had booked for Jenny, Eliana and I was adapted for a person who used a wheelchair such as myself. 

There was a showerseat and a balcony. It was large, spacious and comfortable. I was too sick to do anything other than venture out of the room to eat. Jenny, Eliana and Jenny's family got to enjoy the on board shows though. In Napoles, I was feeling well enough to venture off of the ship (in my wheelchair) and got to see a famous fountain before it started dumping buckets of rain and we had to scramble for cover. We managed to get back to the ship without getting soaking wet. In Santorini, I didn't get off the ship because the terrain was too hilly for my wheelchair. In Heraklion, I was actually feeling better but I had managed to get everyone else sick. No one from our group was feeling well enough to disembark in Heraklion. Our final cruise stop was Estambul, Turkey. They cut our cruise short by one day because of a Turkish national holiday. They did give us a 50 euro onboard credit though.

Personally, I didn't enjoy Istanbul at all. It was dirty, crowded, poverty filled and definitely not friendly for people who are disabled. We were denied entry to various tourist sites. The tiny cobblestone streets did my electric wheelchair no favors. I spent the majority of my time inside the van we had rented (with a driver to show us around).

After leaving Istanbul, we were meant to fly to Madrid. Jenny is always paranoid about missing her flight. She convinced /forced everyone to go to the airport three hours early. This turned out to be a good decision because due to a miscommunication, our driver dropped us off at the wrong airport. 

He brought us to the national destination only airport. Since we were flying to Madrid, Spain the international airport was located an hours taxi ride away. Luckily, we found our own transportation, and because of Jenny's paranoia about being late, we had enough time to make our flight to Madrid. 

After arriving in one piece to Madrid, we managed to get on board a bus to Pamplona (after some delays and confusion). After a four hour bus ride (with one transfer). We made it back home to Pamplona in one piece. 

I am still sick. I currently have a cough and a runny nose. However, my sore throat, fever and chills are gone. I hope to be back to normal soon. It was not ideal getting sick right as I went on vacation. I feel bad that I was responsible for getting everyone else sick. I also feel bad that everyone had to modify their trip to accommodate my limited mobility. Additionally, I feel bad that Jenny had to take care of Eliana and I all while being sick.

We had terrible luck with elevators on this trip. In multiple different locations, the elevators were out of service. I was forced to walk down multiple flights of stairs. I was lucky to have the ability to walk (although not well).

I would return to both Italy and Greece for another visit. However, I have seen all that I want to see of Turkey. I have no desire to go back again. Being in Turkey, where their President /Prime Minister/Dictator is, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I was slightly worried about us. However, we managed to follow all of the local laws and we had no trouble. Even in a dictatorship, all of the police and local security officers were very nice and friendly, especially to Eliana. They were very nice to her and curious about her life. It just goes to show that as long as you follow local laws, even in a dictatorship you can have a good time. 

We went on the trip with my in laws, Jenny, Eliana, my sister in law Ana and her boyfriend Fran. There were certainly some bumps in the road. However, overall I had a good time and I am glad that we got to go. 

Til next time, Tyler