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Day 171
Day 171 brings us to 5,661.8 miles and Waco, TX.
After filming ABC in Houston, TX & knowing my 2-year-old Compaq laptop system board was blown & would cost $500 to repair I was in a panic! As luck would have it we were down the street from the Compaq corporate office. Friday would have been my 1st day to rest but instead I prepared a sponsor media kit & walked into the Compaq lobby with a plea to help.
After numerous phone calls I ended up with Customer Satisfaction! To make a long story short they were very kind and offered to repair my computer free of charge. Many people were coming up having seen me on ABC the night before and I am happy to say that I received a call with an offer to replace the laptop with a new one! They understood how important the computer was to the PKD Road Warrior trip and offered a replacement so I would not be without a computer at all! Thanks to a compassionate Compaq we are back up & running!
While sitting at my friend's Meineke making media calls to Austin a customer overheard me & told me her husband and brother-in-law had PKD and that she had given her husband a kidney! Small world when it comes to PKD!
Repairs were made to my Nissan thanks to all the Tomball, TX Meineke gang and their buddy Dan. Dan's wife, Sue, came to my rescue with software since my new computer had to be rebuilt from scratch.
All that done we had to get to Austin and were forced to drive 240 miles in a severe storm but we made it! We were soaked to the bone 3 times but made it safely!
I was happy to see old friends and shared dinner with them. ABC had filmed us 4/1/99 and they offered to do a follow-up live, in-studio interview, which aired March 30. I had to be there at 5:45 so that was true dedication. Ha! I was afraid I would fall asleep on camera having to wake at 4:00am.
All went well and we reached PKD people in Austin!
My friend from high school, David Breaux, owns Cutting Edge Music and has a full "recording studio" and he was kind enough to help me create a "Radio Public Service Announcement" so now I have a PSA to use on radio stations. Thanks David and do they ever look so professional! Now I have a radio and TV PSA available making more possibilities for media exposure. Soon he will "upload" it to his web site for all of you hear and/or get your local radio stations to air!
Did not get to hear any good music in Austin, which is a great blues music city. I was just too tired but we got PKD awareness, most importantly.
We left Austin Saturday morning and drove on to Waco, TX only 106 miles away. Waco holds many memories for me since I attended college "before PKD" back in 1978 when my dreams of the future were not interrupted with PKD. Waco is a beautiful city with Lake Waco and rolling hills creating a majestic place to see...
We have an appointment with ABC- Waco Monday April 2nd so we will be reaching more people. A large magazine {name TBA when contract finalized} with 5 million circulation has said yes to doing my story Nov/Dec 2001 and a large cable TV network {name TBA when final} negotiations are being finalized {reaching 32 million homes}! This is an exciting time and now, when I am so exhausted & in pain, it makes it all worth while. Gaining "national" exposure was a dream that may very well become a reality, shortly, making my goal to reach millions of people with PKD a reality!
Next stop is Dallas for April 3rd appointment with ABC. This is a big moment for the PKD Road Warriors because Dallas is No. 7 TV market in USA and many people will be reached! Houston was No. 10 so my efforts are paying off and I hope we are bringing hope to many!
Time to wash the RV & truck for Monday interview so better get to it!
Hope you are getting lots of pledges!
Cecilia Maida & Max
The PKD Road Warriors
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