Once upon a time, there was a dirty little fur ball scampering the ominous streets of Farmers Branch, Texas. After being hit by a car and breaking her leg, the dog catcher brought her to the shelter. The shelter brought her to their vet, Dr. Terry Ford. They showed him the leg and asked him to amputate. Dr. Ford refused.
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As Anthony Bolner and I hightailed it to Fort Worth one January day, his contagious smile and bright blue eyes greeted me with a question, “What if we held a dinner to thank all of your drivers?” I loved that idea! A great way to express my love and gratitude towards those who made my Neurokinetix attendance possible. We could
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How could the holy grail of neurological rehab and recovery be in my own backyard? A hidden gem tucked away in west Fort Worth. Upon its discovery, I was amazed at the vast services they provide under one roof: Physical therapy, robotic therapy, aquatic therapy, neuro rehab VR, and HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy). It was everything I ever wished for
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When God closes a door, He opens a window. I’m a firm believer. Sometimes it opens immediately and seamlessly, other times the window requires an abundance of patience, the right size Allen wrench and a touch of W-D 40 to loosen its grip. And, sometimes He creates a beautiful and pristine window that one never knew existed. Once the window
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Scraped knees, scabbed elbows, and bruised toes were hazards of walking as a child. Falling was normal. As birthdays passed, walking became more difficult. Occasionally, my dad would hold my hand when walking. Not only a sign of affection, but a source of balance and stability. His large hand would instinctively clinch my tiny one upon the buckling of my
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No more piggies, and chickens, and cows. Oh, my! That’s right, this born and raised Texas COW-girl is no longer eating meat. As of mid January 2020, I am a clean, plant-based vegan. Never in my wildest dreams did I predict those words would come out of my mouth, much less pivot into a lifestyle. I guess you could say
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Unbridled curiosity ramped up my reading and research in order to better understand the scientific side of my genetically confirmed Charcot Marie Tooth type 2A diagnosis, in March, 2019. Never did I dream that months of casual, yet steadfast Google searches would lead me to stumble upon informational gold. A diagram in the Journal of Clinical Investigation caught my eye.
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The news of Charcot Marie Tooth type 2A was not earth shattering. After 50 years of uncertainty, advanced genetic testing confirmed the definitive truth about what had been “inconveniencing” my body for 5 decades. Finally, loose ends were tying up and years of unanswered questions were being answered. The quest was over, and in my mind, slowly coming to a
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The last time I visited Margaritaville was Jimmy Buffett’s concert circa summer 1995. Of course, attending with my dear friend and partner in crime, Liz, made it one of the elite memories spanning our 30 year friendship. And, we’ve had a lot of them! It’s so rare to have a friend that you can move forward in time with, experiencing
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For now, stem cell therapy was on the back burner, simmering on a very diminished flame. I felt God was, momentarily, guiding me in a different direction. His message serenely revealing,” Not now, but not never.” The brakes on stem cell therapy were being halted for a reason. My heart felt this to be true which helped me take this
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Safe to say, it usually takes a state of crisis in order to spark a change. I was guilty as charged!, the last half of 2017. This pivotal predicament snuck up on me at the end of August 2017. I never saw it coming. The warm water therapy pool allowed me a place to walk and push my body, more
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A revitalized strength energized my body in early 2017. Inctuitively, I felt it needed to be challenged with new exercises, beyond my usual training and swimming routine. A doctor suggested a referral to a physiatrist. “Psychiatrist?”, I thought to myself. No, not a psychiatrist. Although, some people might argue otherwise. A physiatrist is a doctor of physical therapy. I was
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Debilitating cramps in my lower torso were relentlessly pushing my bones out of alignment for months, preventing any forward progress as far as trying to rehab my body. Dr. Cris mentioned magnesium as a supplement to assist in relieving leg cramps. After experimenting with a few different brands, there was NO good path which led to discovering that magnesium was
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The body performs it’s best when upright and weight bearing. Duh, this sounds so simple. However, it’s a lesson that took me a long time to learn. Not out of personal apathy, but more of lack of holistic body training within the general medical community, especially when I was growing up. I was introduced to the standing frame via a
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Shockingly, subjecting my body with moderate volts of electricity is something I anticipate as much as I dread. The FES bike (Function Electrical Stimulation) is 60 minutes of bearable, on-the-edge torture which has exponentially increased my ability to build muscle in a shorter period of time. This unique, restorative therapy bike provides the function of a bike combined with an
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Application… Check! Bone density scan… Check! Fundraiser …??? Well, two out of three completed items isn’t bad! Yet, all three are required in order to join REACT (neuroreaction.org), a highly specialized gym which aides in recovery for people with spinal cord injuries or neuromuscular diseases. Filling out the application was a cinch, especially since I am so eager to start
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Watching Saturday morning television at 7am is not my forte, but this particular Saturday was different. Early to rise, meant flipping on the tv while doing my morning stretches in bed. God must have choreographed the moment I hit the remote’s “ON” button with the timing of Fox 4 News. My eyes and ears could not believe the story playing
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Bed rest was not on the menu for this trip! Just like ol’ times, I was ready for some fun and ready to keep up with Liz’s high-spirited energy ! The only question …was my back? After three months of anticipation, my best friend Liz was arriving on a Friday for a long weekend in Big D. We met in
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