Wishing ALL a Safe Halloween

Last year he was too little...the FUN is beginning








Some Pumpkin Patches had a bad year!

It's That Time Of Year

Get your SHOT before MSM start talking about a shortage!

What Is Multiple Sclerosis

Recently someone said to me, "I didn't know black people could get multiple sclerosis". I looked at that person with a WTF look on my face wondering where the hell they have been living. Then I realized many African Americans are not aware of multiple sclerosis. My first response was multiple sclerosis doesn’t discriminate and I went on to explain how multiple sclerosis affects the body. To make a long story short the individual was concern enough to make an appointment with a neurologist to rule out MS when she recognized herself with my story of my journey finding out I had multiple sclerosis.

Here is an excellent visualization explaining multiple sclerosis. It mentioned numbness and tingling, but forgot to mentioned the PAIN multiple sclerosis can cause.

Althea WON!

This beautiful young lady met my daughter while they attended Vanderbilt University. The very first time my daughter start bringing her home on visits, I knew they were going to be life long friends. Since their graduation in May 2007, Althea decided not to start graduate school at Columbia University for a year to continue working for one of TN’s State Senators and compete in pageants for scholarships to continue her education.

She was first runner up in the 2007 Miss Black Tennessee Pageant and she WON the 2007 Miss TN International Pageant

C O G R A T U L A T I O N S! Althea

You are continuing to make your second Mom proud.

ps
Althea is in the black dress

Happy Birthday!

I remember the day as if it was yesterday; it's hard to believe it’s been 25 years ago. You brought a smile to my face that day and I been smiling every since because you were the first of the two most precious gifts I received in my life.

You filled the first half of a mold that was broken. I couldn’t have asked for one of the most loving, compassionate, smart, independent, good, kindest, no nonsense daughter.

With All my LOVE

H A P P Y – B I R T H D A Y

I Don’t Think She Learned Her Lesson

Shelly Brown is the other woman in my husband’s life. My husband and I picked her out of a litter of pups from a friend of ours in Louisiana; she stood out because she was the only brown and white pup in the litter. She back to Tennessee in my lap and you would think our bond was established during the long drive home. My husband thought it would be a good idea to bring another woman in the house to keep me company while he was at work.

Let me put it this way she is in love with my husband and she tolerates me. It took awhile for me to get it in her head I was the only Queen and we had many battles to get to that understanding. I know this sounds crazy, but Shelly purposely tried to get me in trouble with my husband. I never abused her, but in the early years I would put her out in the garage until he come home when she makes me mad.

I have many stories about Shelly and if I was to blog about it you would think I was crazy, my family and friends thought I was crazy until they start witnessing Shelly’s cunningness. There were time I wanted to give her way, but now that we have an understanding I would miss our love/hate relationship. Shelly finally met her match; she’s been antagonizing a tom cat as big as her when she goes out. Last night when my husband came home she did what she always to go to him for a daily rub down, but this time my husband noticed she looked as if she’s been hit by a car.

I never noticed because when I am upstairs she is downstairs and vice versa that's our relationship when we are alone. We just had her groomed last Friday and when I looked at her after my husband asked me if she’s been hit by a car. I did notice she was more timid than usual and looked as if she wasn’t groom a few days ago, I felt bad that I didn’t’ notice something was wrong with Shelly.

I took her to the Pet Salon to get groomed again and asked them to check her out to see if she’s been hit by a car, it turns out the oil, dirt and what appeared to car marks were signs of Shelly being in a fight. Once Amy told me she looks like she was attack by a cat it all made since. The tom cat Shelly been harassing when she is out took revenge on her. Shelly was lucky the tom cat claws didn’t go into her deep and it was in the back, he could have gouge her eyes.

I was just telling my husband when we were out in the yard Saturday and Shelly broke and chased the tom cat that the cat was going to get tired of Shelly harassing him when they were both outside. Maybe she learned her lesson only time will tell. Anywho, she is acting like herself again after receiving her medicated shampoo and ointment and she is downstairs while I am upstairs, I wonder what lie she is going to tell on me when her Daddy comes through the door this evening.

Still I Rise

Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”
gave me strength living in America as a black woman, but today it also gives me strength living with multiple sclerosis. I considered myself in a fight for my life the day I was told I had MS. All I could vision on my tearful ride home from the neurologist office was Richard Pryor. After thinking of Richard which I knew the end was near for him, I thought about Montel Williams. I do not know about others who live with MS, but for me every day is a struggle. I fight every day just to get moving, that’s why I try to stay busy doing something. I have met and know several people with MS who had given up and they are now just wasting away. They are bed ridden, blind or sitting in a wheel chair sooner by giving up instead of fighting. By looking at me from the outside you wouldn’t know I have MS, which is why I tell people do not judge a book by its cover.

I want to continue to have the use of my legs, eyes, and not be totally depended on my family because I am bed ridden. I know that is my future, but I also know as long as I keep a positive attitude and a fighting spirit I will delay it for years or I just might never experience going blind, loosing the use of my legs or become bedridden all the things I fear most living with MS. That is why I know I have to continue to fight the invisible symptoms o MS no matter what the risks are from the medications.

The month of November is a busy month for me and MS is trying to rear its ugly head. In this order, as President of a book club I have Dwight Fryer, author of The Legend of Quito Road as The Circle of Friends Book Club guest for a reading and book signing to prepare for, I have family coming to town for the Thanksgiving holiday, and finally I have my step daughter wedding to prepare for and attend the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The Duragesic patch and Cymbalta is giving me relieve from pain and tingles, but lately I am having terrible headaches and spasticity is now creeping in my body. It’s like my body knows I have plans and its trying to bring me down. I am good at giving others good advice, but it’s time for me to take my own advice. That’s why I blog to remind myself of that fighting spirit that’s in me, as another way to communicate to my family on how I am feeling, and hopefully to inspire others not to give up.

I am not going to lie my experience with IPIR scared the hell out of me and I wimped out taking my shot last night. I got to thinking about Still I Rise and from that I regained a new strength. I WILL be taking my shot tonight and I WILL NOT let the rising symptoms from MS that is rearing its head take me out. Knowledge is Power and I gained enough knowledge about how to handle my MS to battle my symptoms when they creep up on me.


I am in a fight, but in the end STILL I RISE…I RISE!