Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Its been a long, long time

I’m having a little problem posting, it’s been many years. I tried yesterday but must have done something wrong, so I’ll try again.

An old AS Kicker from way back. My profile shows join date in 2001, but I found the forerunner of KickAS sometime in the late 90s, Brian Harris’ AS Web site. Does anyone still remember back then? At the time there were only a dozen or so people posting on Brian’s Chat Board, but it quickly outgrew that board and Brian’s AS battle was giving him many problems. So KickAS was born with the help of a guy named Pete, from Mexico, later to become Dakota Dan.
Back then I was known as Rick S and lived in Schenectady NY, but have been living in the small rural town of Burgaw just north of Wilmington NC for 17 years. If you can get to my pic you’ll see me and my daughter at a “take your daughter to work” day in Schenectady, she is 37 now and a nurse. Good think too, I’ve become prone to falls, broken hip and back, using a rollator now also.
I see several people from that time still here. I’ll try to drop by again more often.

Stay Well
Richard

Great to see You again, Richard:

Thank You for updating us after all these years; we all lose contact over the long term I guess.

HEALTH
John

Hello Richard,

Good to see you posting, sorry to hear about the falls. Keep on Kicking!

Tim

Hello Richard

Nice to see you pop in. I rarely do so myself too. Like you I was here when this place exploded more than 25 years ago.

Amazing that the little girl in your photo, your daughter, is now 37.

My triplet daughters were basically born here. I was bestowed one of the most wonderful gifts of my lifetime when thousands of diapers arrived at my home from all over the world courtesy of KickAs loving members. Somewhere On have a picture of me standing in a mountain of those diaper packages.

This place is informative and wonderful and a place where I have seen more kindness shared than the pain shared which is monumental because AS means a lot of pan

M girls wil all graduate college in two months. The babies born here in so many ways are now 22 year old women.

I’m m glad to see you and glad you stirred up that remembrance in me

So Nice to see you, John, Tim and Steve. I don't think I had the pleasure of meeting Richard. Hello from England Richard. It is a pity that KA which helped many, and a few arguments along the way too, seems to be in decline, I must commit to visiting more often as well. As for me, I tend to fall over a lot, can hardly walk but I am off to Vienna next week, so it will be a test. Otherwise all ok on this side of the Atlantic, so sorry about the Baltimore Bridge and the casualties. I won't go into politics but who is favourite for the Whitehouse this time?


Alan, AKA ineptwill.

Hello, Alan:

Great to hear from You and looking forward to Your trip! Falling down is really no good; wear a protective suit of foam! People migrated over to FaceBook with factional groups it seems. Low and No Starch Lifestyle for example is quite active with many success stories! Have a wonderful trip and hope You can provide a full report.

HEALTH,
John

I got my weeks wrong! Am off to Vienna on Sunday the 7th, Booked to go to a concert, argument ensued over that, Ellen my wife wanted Strauss waltzes, I wanted the Beethoven. I won the raffle and we see the fifth symphony, D-Day timps, followed by the piano Concerto No 5 in E-flat major, The emperor, Beethoven dedicated
it to Napoleon Bonaparte but later struck out the dedication because of Napoleon's misdeeds. So nice to be back on KA. Will report more fully whence I return.

HEALTH as John Would say.

Hello Steve,

Hard to believe girls finishing college, time flies. Mateo grew up here as well on Kickas... he is now 16, maybe another year he is taller than dad (I am 6'3"), so he will be tall. He has 1 1/2 years of high school left and then off to college most likely.

Best to you and family that all is well.

Tim

Hello Alan,

Will the trip be in your magical Shed? If I recall correctly... you once travelled the world in a Shed with photos and all of the eventful experience.

Enjoy the trip and hope you can enjoy it immensely.

Tim

Hi All! Familiar names, I love it.

Eric will be 33 in about 2 weeks, so I have been haunting these halls for almost 23 years. Seems like a lifetime. Eric has a 13 year old son, Conner. He is the youngest of my 3 grandkids.

I keep in touch with a handful of kickers on Facebook, but have lost touch with far too many. I should probably pop in here more than once a year or so..

Good to see that you are all doing so well. My love to you all.

Hello Fellow Kickers! I have been faithfully watching and reading for a few years. Number of visitors is barely noticeable which saddens me. I keep checking in, reading an old post every so often. Soon I feel I will abandon my daily monitoring as time and age is catching up to me. Thank you to everyone past and future for visiting, saying hello, supporting the bestest AS website ever.

I am Magician and it has been my honor to maintain this wonderful website.
- Angie -

Well done for stepping in Magician, i too am sad that there seems to be no-one using KA more often but in the world of technology I guess that spondys have different ways of keeping abreast of things now!

Was a good site to me and I was fortunate having joined whence it was very busy indeed, learned an enormous amount here, not least from John (Dragonslayer), a very well read and learned man, please say hello to him for me.

Ineptwill - sometimes known as Alan from England.
My best wishes to you

Thank you, Alan (if I may call you that). I always keep thinking there just has to be a way to get the others to come back.

What would you suggest could be done to have the others come back? I mean this website is the original, just sitting here wanting to have people talking in it again.

Have an relaxing Good Evening!
- Angie -

I think the time of KA has passed, Facebook seems to have taken over, the odd member still looks in but I don't see you getting it back to how it was sadly, and by all means call me Alan.

Thank you, Alan.

Several members still talk about coming back. Wish they would.

When you read through the old posts as I do you can still feel the energy pulsing from the old KickAS website.

As I'd said it just bothers me how everyone appears to have completely turned their backs on KickAS. What Facebook area has won every member away? I'd love to feel that energy again and chit chat with a member or two.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Alan.
- Angie -

Dear Angie and Alan:

I pop in from time to time to see whether anyone has questions. A few years ago visited our fellow spondys in India and delivered some of Carol Sinclair's books to people I had been corresponding with. Gautam Dandekar in Mumbai showed me ultimate respect, but I stand on the shoulders of the giant I visited last month in England. I was on vacation in Europe and visited Professor Ebringer and his wife Marie. He gave me his three books and we had lunch together at their care home. He is almost 90 years old but still doing very well. Asked about some of his former patients who came by KickAS on occasion. We never get Bill's reports from the Serpentine anymore. Tried to visit George McCaffery but he was not well. I met Duncan Pickthall while we were in Edinburgh; he drove up from Kendal in the Lake Country. Duncan is a ham who cured himself! Actually, he used Rife frequencies on himself and about four or five other now former spondys. He highly recommends Spooky2 so I am using it on Annie now as she has developed arthritis herself! My ESR remains at very low levels now, despite what I eat. I either got rid of SIBO, or my AS has "Burned out" due to my advanced age.

Wonderful to see You both and I appreciate the support. I still use KA AS a reference for the Facebook forums, people don't have to join to look at the reference material here and testimonials.

HEALTH,
John

Bill reporting just back from the Serpentine, now in his 42nd year of winter swimming.

Water temperature about 12C, 54F. Wind from the east. Avian flu has taken its toll on the accompanying wildfowl. Had a couple of weeks suspension in the summer due to algae above WHO recommended levels. Health and Safety nonsense.

Glad to hear Prof is doing well.

EXCELLENT to see You again, bilko! Missed Your updates. Motored past the park and thought of You! Tried to imagine Your route.
HEALTH,
John

I still pop in from time to time to see if friendly face recently posted. This was the best place for AS.

Tim