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Let me tell you, my story. How my working and helping promote concerts came to a sudden end. 

      After La Villa Real closed down, my dad and I made a drawing for a new venue / building. We convinced the city of Pharr to remodel their existing convention center. I was offered my dream job and was asked to run it. I negotiated an offer with the city and got the job. The city would remodel to our specifications, addressing the wants and needs to successfully have a concert in the building. It already had the bones, they just needed to remodel. Two million dollars later, we had our new venue. It would be called the Pharr Events Center. The building sounded fantastic. I added the final changes, made a deal with Ticketmaster, ordered tables and chairs, curtains, and a bunch of other stuff. I also had an amazing staff. We opened the new building with a Mark Chesnutt concert on June 3rd, 2011. Slowly, but surely, the building came to life. On October 25th of that year, we hosted the best concert ever, in my opinion: headliner Bush with special guests Chevelle, and Filter. At 10 AM that morning, we only had 2,500 tickets sold. But, by noon, we were at 3,000. By 5 PM, we were at 4,000. When we opened the doors at 6pm, the concert was sold out. 4,300 people, give or take. A couple of days later, we would have Dierks Bentley / Jerrod Nieman / Eli Young Band. Other notable artists that performed there were the late Kenny Rodgers, Dwight Yoakam, Deftones, Etcetera. We had many, many more bands. Including the Randy Rogers Band. 

In early May 2011, I took the Randy Rogers Band to see the Pharr Events Center and told Randy he was going to play there. They played that December the first year to a little over 1,000 people. The next year, their concert sold out. So, did the next year, the next year, and the next year. During his first performance in December 2011, I took the band to a phone store. He needed to get something. I was struggling to walk back to my truck when we were leaving. The band had to help me. I blamed it on my knees. I was scheduled to have knee surgery to repair torn ACLs I had in both my knees. I  

. Little did I know, it would be the beginning of my battle with MS. 

One day in 2012, I went to a knee surgeon. The reason I had waited so long to see a doctor was because I did not have medical insurance. I was told about DARS. A state funded program that would pay for my surgery if I needed it, and I qualified. The goal was to get me healthy enough to work and pay taxes. I had an interview with them, qualified, and they paid for me to see the surgeon. When I was with the doctor, he noticed something, and did a test on my feet. He looked at me and said I had to see a neurologist. I did not understand. Why would I need to see a neurologist for knee surgery? He told me he would not do anything until I saw one. He told my dad and I the reason I kept falling down might be something else, and not just my knees. He got me an appointment to see a neurologist the next day. I went and after he did some tests, he asked me, “Do your hands or feet feel as though they are numb or tingling. I said “yes,” and told him a story: “Instead of seeing a doctor when I first noticed that happening, like I should have done, I simply ignored it. But I remember exactly where I was. I was on my way to the beach. It was the day after I had a Black Crowes concert I had to work. It was my concert after all. My friend Landon picked me up, and we headed to the beach. It was the first time since its start, I would miss the fishing tournament I found. But I did not want to miss the awards ceremony. I woke up the day after the concert, and noticed my hand was numb. I did not think anything of it at the time. It did not hurt; It just felt like my hand was asleep. My hand had been asleep before and went numb, but after a few minutes, the feeling would come back. My friend Landon picked me up and we started driving to the beach. Twenty minutes went by, and my hand was still numb. I do not know if he remembers me saying this or not, but I made the comment that I must have slept wrong, because my hand had been asleep for thirty minutes. We go to the beach and go out. My hand was still numb. The next day, I woke up with my hand still asleep. I just got used to it and thought nothing of it. That is until a few weeks later when I tried to play basketball. I still could not feel my hand. Trying to dribble and shoot the ball was not happening. It was impossible. I was so embarrassed and took myself out of the game. People laughed at me because they thought I was a really bad player. I was not, I just could not feel my hand. Around that same time, I noticed when I would sleep, my feet also started tingling.” The doctor then ordered an MRI of the brain, blood work, and a spinal tap. After I had everything done, I saw the doctor again. He had a diagnosis. He told me I had MS. I did not know what to think, or really what that was. I knew Country artist Clay Walker had it, but he was still performing, and we would drink together when I saw him. So, I did not think it would hinder my functioning, or working. 

If I did not run outside, I would try to run for around twenty minutes on a treadmill in my office to relieve stress. I would also do pushups and sit ups. Then, it was off to a watering hole for more bad habits and getting cut off by the bar tender. I could not understand what was happening.  

Had I become a light weight and could not handle my liquor? In July of 2012, I went over to my parents’ house one weekend. I was eating in the kitchen, then tried walking to the living room to watch TV with my mom. I almost made it to the sofa, but I knew something was terribly wrong. A yard away from the sofa, I just collapsed. For thirty minutes, I laid on the floor. My mom tried getting me up but could not. I was 170 pounds of dead weight. Fortunately, I was at my parents’ house. My dad picked me up and put me on the sofa. A few minutes passed and I tried getting up, but I still could not. That happened on a Sunday. Monday morning, I saw my neurologist. The progressive MS caught up with me. It is a one-way street, and there was no getting better. I need to permanently use a walker, or a wheelchair. My days of running, swimming, and playing the drums, are gone.
Truth be told though, I had been having problems, and experiencing major symptoms a couple of years before the official diagnoses. I will not even tell you what happened to me the night before the Black Crowes concert. Let’s just say my nickname that night was floor, because I was always on it. Having beer and alcohol was not a good idea. My friends laugh and remind me of certain predicaments I would find myself in. Having MS explains a lot. They call MS the drunk man’s disease for a reason. I was living proof! Everything as I knew, ended abruptly. Madder red. That is how I was feeling. That is what I saw. One day I was at happy hour. The next day, I could not walk. I went ahead as if everything was normal, but it definitely was not. I had to make changes. Lifestyle changes. I think I shed a tear. I embraced the new lifestyle change. Cold turkey with most things, but I persevere. I cannot work, or drive, but I receive disability insurance which helps a lot. I also have the love and support from family and friends. That allows me to be somewhat independent. I learned to do certain things a certain way, and think MacGyver, when it comes to figuring things out. I keep active by going to therapy. That is like my gym. 

I have come to learn that most people want to help.

J.R.Ramirez