About me

Where in the world do I start? How do I define myself? What would others say about me? I think the best place to start is with an overall history of myself. I was born 33 years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. I moved to Abilene, Texas at six months of age. I am the middle child and have 2 sisters. My parents are still married. At 6 years old, we moved to Waco, Texas. At age 15, I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. A few months later, I had a huge operation to correct and stabilize the deformity. This was a life changing event. The surgery was horribly painful and the recovery was tremendously long. I missed lots of school and never found my place back with my friends. I fell into the wrong crowd and made a bunch of lousy decisions. At age 19, I gave birth to my daughter and this again changed my life. I had to start making wise decisions. I raised her alone, with no help from the biological father or his family. My family and friends helped as much as possible. I obtained my undergraduate accounting degree and graduate accounting degree from Baylor University and accepted a highly sought after position at Deloitte and Touche in Dallas. I did my best to balance my career and daughter's needs but I still lacked in the emotional development area. I had a few quite turbulent relationships that I deeply regret. I just wanted to be loved and would give anything to have that love. Little did I know that I had the greatest love of all right under my nose- that of God and my daughter. At age 27, my spine started deteriorating (steel rods only have about a 10-12 year life) and I had to have another monster surgery to remove the metal rods and hooks. I recuperated and was back to work within 4 months. I downgraded my career by moving back to Waco, Texas, bought a house, and accepted a job as a CPA at a local CPA firm. The change was primarily necessary because I could no longer work the long hours or drive the long commutes because of my back problems. At age 28, I married the man of my dreams, Ken. He is a professional baseball pitching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (used to play for the White Sox, Cubs, and the Angels). He is currently coaching the Double A Arkansas Travelers' pitchers. At age 32, I had the most massive reconstructive spinal surgery yet, because I developed fixed thoracic kyphosis above the fused section of vertebrae that they made due to the scoliosis. It was a two day surgery with a halo. I am now fused from T1-L4. I have two 24 inch rods, and 27 three inch screws that hold my spine up. An entire vertebrae was removed (vertebrae columnar resection) and a cage now holds together that space. I have been in recovery for a year now and am still disabled. I am writing this blog to share some of my experiences, since putting thoughts to paper can help you heal. I am also writing this blog in the hope that I can meet people with similar experiences. I want to share the faith I have in God and share the fear of permanent disability. I will share my reality and my past, as I see it and saw it, and hope that this sharing will heal the deep core of my spirit that has been numbed and maybe help heal someone else too.