Unus Annus

It means one year.

... and that is all we get.

It is a YouTube channel created my Markiplier (Mark) and Crankgameplays (Ethan). A hairy magical, hysterical land of thicc nincompoopery.

My son casually mentioned it to me last November when he was dealing with a life threatening health crisis. "Mama... Markiplier has a new channel, in the first video they're cooking with sex toys."

Me: *laughter* why do you always tell me these things while were driving and I can't go look it up?

I have always listened to my kids and investigated the people and things they watch on YouTube. I have been a fan of Markiplier since JUR mentioned him years ago.

This channel is a self destructing one. After one year they are deleting it. All of it. Only our memories of the journey will remain....and its been one hell of a journey. I was dealing with a frightening time in my life when Unus Annus was brought to my attention.

My son was ill.  We were three years into the search for what was ailing him, doctor after doctor, after doctor...and the last ones only advice was...."Have you tried putting cheese on his broccoli?"

I was tired of going to wake him up and having my heart cave-in as I approached his bed and called his name. ...was he alive? or did he die in his sleep?

Nearly six feet tall and 103 pounds. He looked like he was dying.

...he was dying...

Finally in November 2019 he got refereed to a GI doctor, who took one look at him and his blood pressure and turned to me and said. "I want you to leave here and drive straight to Doernbecher  Children's Hospital, he is being directly admitted."

In a whirl wind stay, he was scoped and poked and prodded and diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis.  EOE for short.


They would be placing a NJ-tube so they could start feeding him.  He would be there a week, as he suffered from re-feeding syndrome and his labs went hay-wire.

They also inserted the NG tube in his lung vs his stomach the first time.

 That's were it belongs.

I can't explain how grateful and thrilled I was to have answers finally. To have someone doing something for my beautiful son.

It was November and we had a long ways to go. He left the hospital at 103#.

November 14th that year Unus Annus signed on. It was my birthday.

It was a good birthday, my son was home and alive, and I had a youTube show that would be a one year timer....the same time frame that the doctors were saying it would take to have my son up to weight and healthy.

Each day at noon they would upload the daily video. It got to where I wake up at noon each day to watch it and then go back to sleep. Unus Annus isn't for everyone...it should be through, the laughter everyday is so needed and appreciated.

It reminds me of my childhood and all the goofy things me and siblings did. In a way I lived Unus Annus.  Being alive before the internet meant we entertained ourselves. I will miss it when it gets deleted, but I will celebrate being part of it.

JUR and I both watch it. Laughing at it, as funny parts tickle us. He  and I and 3.68 million subscribers partaking in a strange black and white cult of laughter, corn, beans and pee.

His recovery was slow.

I weighed him expecting miracles...to find only a pound here and there.

By the Unus Annus Christmas eggnog muckbang video, we knew for sure a surgically implanted g-tube was in the works.

In January we were off to the hospital again.

oh my sweet son, I'm so sorry for your pain...

As he laid there after surgery, he was listening to Markiplier's vlog on his pain and hospital stay. I am so grateful Mark shared his journey so freely. His words were there to comfort and help my son in ways I could not.

And he was also helping me get through all this, with his and Ethan's infections laughter on Unus Annus. My daily dose of sheer frolicking fun and laughter.




And then.....2020 shit on us all.

The lock down had detrimental effects in my mental health. On others too. Steve Cash another YouTube star that me and the kids  have watched for ever, took his own life.  His loss a staggering blow to us all. These people who share their creativity with us on line, are truly imaginary friends. We don't know each other, but they are in our lives.

Unus Annus went into quarantine with us.

Delivering as promised....each day. It payed off, helping me focus and have something to look forward too. The days pasted slowly.

I don't know who was more excited Mr. Crab or me.

When Mark and Ethan were able to get out of quarantine and get together again, it was epic. A video that no one who has seen it will ever forget it. And no one will believe us in the future when we speak of it. the infamous, Pee Sauna.

I was there. I saw it. I was part of it. (chants)  "Unus annus, unus annus,unus annus!!!"

With all the chaos going on in the world right now, its  been nice to watch my son's weight go up.

All the while watching the Unus Annus counter go down.

The ticking clock that closes out each video.

Each day I watch those numbers go down...knowing that when it reaches zero and the channel disapears...at that time I will know that it's been a year, and my son is 365 days farther away from those days when he was heading towards an early death.

Will I miss the channel?

Yes.

Memento Mori.

But I have the laughter inside of me.

Those days are pounds in my son's life.

After 7 months on a milk free diet, they scoped him again to see if the treatment was working.

 Above is his esophagus in early November, its closed up and riddled with inflammation.

This is it in June. THIS is how it is suppose to look! Doctor says things look great.

A dexa scan showed the long term damage that the malnutrition caused to his bones.

Jur knew about the scan from watching the Unus Annus episode where Mark and Ethan got their bones scanned.

 The curse of 2020 had us without AC for a week and 1/2 during 100+ degree weather this summer. Jur found humor in it.

So did I.

That magical day I've been waiting for is close at hand.

When he reaches 155 we can start weaning him off the tube and see if he can maintain the weight with just food.

I see so many things in him since we have found the right balance...most of all his smile has returned.

and so has mine.

I'm glad that this time in our lives is growing shorter, and will be gone soon. Some day the scar on his belly will be all that remains.

...just like the faint memories of the time we both spent watching Unus Annus.