Latest / DA CREW Podcast / Bringing Awareness to Spina Bifida Hosted by Triveda Harris_ LIVE EVERY 2ND SUNDAY & 4TH THURSDAY 8PM EST ON DA CREW PODCAST

Transcript

Bringing Awareness to Spina Bifida Hosted by Triveda Harris_ LIVE EVERY 2ND SUNDAY & 4TH THURSDAY 8PM EST ON DA CREW PODCAST · DA CREW Podcast

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome, welcome, welcome.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Welcome, welcome, welcome.
• 0:11
  Speaker 3: You're tuned in.
• 0:15
  Speaker 4: To The Crew, podcast and media network where voices rise,
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: stories shine.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: And purpose meets the world.
• 0:26
  Speaker 5: Welcome home, welcome through. There's a place for you.
• 0:45
  Speaker 6: The crew around the world.
• 0:46
  Speaker 5: Lifting every voice too.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: We make space for the voiceless.
• 0:53
  Speaker 5: Hope for the undeserved.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: Real talk, real stories.
• 0:57
  Speaker 7: Every voice deserves.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: To be heard.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Streaming live, we on the move.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Facebook, Twitch, kick YouTube.
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: From the mic to the nations, we build transformation.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Change begins with us. Faith, purpose, power, trust.
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: Seen around the world tonight. That crew shining bright.
• 1:23
  Speaker 6: This is where it starts.
• 1:25
  Speaker 8: We are the change.
• 1:28
  Speaker 7: We are the change.
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: Right here in our hearts. Welcome home, welcome through.
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: There's a place for you.
• 1:38
  Speaker 7: The crew around the world.
• 1:40
  Speaker 5: Lifting every voice too. Tune in nightly Sunday through Thursday,
• 1:45
  Speaker 5: 8 p.m.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: Eastern time.
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: Miss the live, catch the replay, 15, 20, more behind.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: We are the chain. We are the chain.
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: She's got a story written deep within her soul. Pages
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: full of battles only heaven knows. Through the pain, through
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: the pressure, through the tears she had to cry. She
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: found strength in the valley and lifted her eyes. South
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: Carolina roots, but her voice travels wide. Calling dreamers forward,
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: telling fear to step aside. With every word she speaks,
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: somebody learns to stand. Because she knows what it means
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: to be held in God's hand.
• 2:46
  Speaker 7: R & B.
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: She's got a story written deep within her soul. Pages
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: full of battles only heaven knows Through the pain, through
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: the pressure, through the tears she had to cry She
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: found strength in the valley and lifted her eyes South.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: Carolina roots, but her.
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: Voice travels wide Calling dreamers forward, telling fear to step
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: aside With every word she speaks, somebody learns to stand
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: Cause she knows what it means to be held in
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: God's hand R &.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: B Good evening and welcome to Believe in the Journey
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: podcast where I have two very special guests and we
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: are celebrating, not necessarily celebrating, but we're talking about spinal
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: bifida and people who have been born with that. And
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: the very special people that I have with me tonight
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: are very near and dear to my heart and they
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: have lived with this condition their whole lives. And so
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: I want to give those who are listening tonight an
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: insight on what it is like living with a condition
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: like this. But before we do that, we're going to
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: go to God in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: for bringing us together as you do each and every
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: time we're in front of you. Let the words of
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: our mouths fall upon the ears that need to hear.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Let them be the voices.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: To let other people know that if they are dealing
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: with a chronic illness not like this, they are not disabled.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: They are differently abled and they can still do the
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: things that you have called them to do because there
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: is a purpose in for their lives.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: There is a purpose for their steps. There's a purpose
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: for their voices.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: So please give us the strength to give those who
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: are listening tonight what they need tonight.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: In your precious and holy name, Jesus, I pray. Now,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: we are going.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: To bring up Natasha. Lord, why is Natasha talking about me?
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Dee Dee and Lasagna tonight.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Y'all forgive me because obviously somebody's talking about me right now.
• 5:07
  Speaker 7: That's because you tried to say nausea. You know better than.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: To do that. I don't even call you that.
• 5:14
  Speaker 7: Right.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: I don't even call you that.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: But anyway, I want them to introduce themselves so that
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: you can get an idea that they are not their condition.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: They are individuals who are living with a condition, but
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: that is not who defines them.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: So whoever wants to start first, we'll go from there.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: You got it, Didi.
• 5:39
  Speaker 7: Hey, girl. You got it.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Look, Tasha was on the line, so that's why. Like,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I ain't crazy.
• 5:45
  Speaker 7: All right.
• 5:48
  Speaker 6: My name is Najit Didi Scott. Wright Scott, really. I
• 5:52
  Speaker 6: need to change that, but Wright Scott. I have spina bifida,
• 5:58
  Speaker 6: my amenity cell, one of the long words.
• 6:02
  Speaker 7: It is one of the worst of.
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: Spina bifida, so they say, but it's not worse than
• 6:10
  Speaker 6: my life because everything that the doctor said I wouldn't do,
• 6:13
  Speaker 6: I'm doing. And so to God be the glory that
• 6:17
  Speaker 6: I'm here to do all I'm doing. I also was adopted.
• 6:21
  Speaker 7: And I'm a writer, author. because of these two ladies,
• 6:25
  Speaker 7: because they put.
• 6:26
  Speaker 6: Me, but other than that, um, I'm just thankful to
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: be here.
• 6:31
  Speaker 7: I'm thankful to be on the show. Thank you for
• 6:33
  Speaker 7: having me.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Of course.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: I am Latonya rings. I, um, I, I am from
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: South Carolina. Um, who, where do I start? I was
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: born with spina bifida. Um, the same as Didi. Um, Myelomeningocele,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: which is supposed to be the worst form of spina bifida.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: I was also born with hydrocephalus as well. The two
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: conditions are conjoined in some type of way. I'm a mother.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: I am a stepmother, a grandmother, a wife. I'm an author,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: former podcast host.
• 7:34
  Speaker 7: I don't know. Motivational speaker.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Just basically wanting to share with the world what spina
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: bifida is and how it's affected my life and go
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: from there.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: Well, the reason I wanted you guys to introduce yourselves,
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: because I don't want people to reduce you to just
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: your condition, because oftentimes that's what happens when people know
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: that you're dealing with a chronic illness, they tend to
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: identify that more so than they get to know the person. And,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: you know, I'm, I'm big on not being confined to
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: the condition of what it says. Um, So, you both
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: stated that you both were born with this condition. Did you,
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: as you got older, did your parents actually take the
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: time to sit down and explain that your life.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Was really different from other people, or did they just
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: treat you as if there was nothing wrong, and you
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: found out later in life that there are some other
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: things that makes it a little difficult for you to
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: do certain things?
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: So, um, I knew that he had not meant for
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: me to go first. Um, my situation is very different
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: from Didi as you will hear when she tells, you know,
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: her story. But, um, for me, my parents did not
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: tell me I'm adopted as well. I didn't, I didn't
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: mention that earlier, but my parents did not tell me
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: that I was born with a disability.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Um, I found out.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Later in life, um, probably after I had my son. Um,
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: so yeah, I, I wasn't privy to that information up front.
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: Oh, it's me. Okay. Yeah.
• 9:42
  Speaker 6: Um, like Colleen said, I, we both were adopted, but
• 9:50
  Speaker 6: my situation was a little different because of the.
• 9:52
  Speaker 7: Fact that, Oh, where is this going? That my mom
• 9:59
  Speaker 7: was a nurse. And so my story was always on
• 10:02
  Speaker 7: the forefront of what I had going on. And she
• 10:06
  Speaker 7: would always.
• 10:07
  Speaker 6: Like you said, it wouldn't baby me. My dad being
• 10:11
  Speaker 6: having had six girls, I was the baby. So, of course,
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: I got spoiled, of course. But my mom was one
• 10:19
  Speaker 6: of those where... she would push me and it was
• 10:22
  Speaker 6: nothing that she couldn't do. So she wouldn't allow me
• 10:25
  Speaker 6: to fit under the disability. I couldn't embrace the disability
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: because she.
• 10:31
  Speaker 7: Wasn't having it.
• 10:32
  Speaker 6: She don't care nothing about your disability.
• 10:36
  Speaker 7: And so that was how that was going to go.
• 10:38
  Speaker 6: And she was like, ain't nobody in this world going
• 10:40
  Speaker 6: to care about your disability. So ma'am, no, we're going
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: to keep it moving.
• 10:44
  Speaker 7: So she was.
• 10:45
  Speaker 6: Always that one to push me and to say that
• 10:47
  Speaker 6: there was nothing that I couldn't do. And she would
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: always encourage me with the fact of try it at
• 10:52
  Speaker 6: least once.
• 10:53
  Speaker 7: If you try it and it's for you, it's for you.
• 10:55
  Speaker 7: If it's not, it's not.
• 10:56
  Speaker 6: So I kind of just walk in that mindset of
• 10:59
  Speaker 6: try it at least once and if it's for.
• 11:01
  Speaker 7: Me, it's for me. But I'm not doing this again.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: And I think that's a good way to approach it
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: because if you allow yourself to be limited because of
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: your condition, then you stay boxed in. And I'm one
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: of those people, don't try to box me into nothing
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: because I don't want to.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Be in no box. I'm too big to be in
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: a box.
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: Even though I'm small enough to fit in a box,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: my personality is too big to be in a box.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: So we're not going to be in no box at all.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: And God didn't create me to be stuck in a
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: box anyway. So we're not going to do that. But
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: is there something that you want people to know Because
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: just looking at you guys, no one would ever know
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: that you're dealing with this condition at all. Because, you know,
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: I think people have the misconception that if you're diagnosed
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: with a serious condition, that you have to look broke
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: down and disheveled and all of this kind of stuff.
• 12:04
  Speaker 7: Oh, broke down and disgusted. Right.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: And you really got to look the part. For people
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: to believe that there's something really wrong with you. And
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: that tears my nerves up. How do y'all feel about that?
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: Because it bothers me.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: I can't stand it.
• 12:23
  Speaker 7: I can't stand it.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Just because, as you said, I don't look broke down
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean that I'm not fighting something from day to day.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: You know, for me.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: living with spina bifida day to day is something different. Um,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: my mother-in-law this morning, when I woke up this morning,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: my hip locked up.
• 12:48
  Speaker 7: On me.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: And couldn't move. And so, um, you know, it's, it's
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: something different from day to day. Um, as, as me
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: and Didi always say, we sit and compare dope. We,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: we compare, um, You know, um, spina bifida is called
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: the snowflake disorder. No two people have it the same. Um,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: but what I would want people to know, um, is
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: that I'm not my disability. Um, my disability doesn't disable me. Um,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: you know, um, I have feelings, I have emotions. Um,
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: And on top of all of that, um, bullying is,
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: is something that I endured because of my disability and
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: not knowing that I had a disability, um, got picked on.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: Every day at school religiously.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Like I hated, I hated school. I hated everything about it. Um,
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: until up until the day I quit and I had enough, um,
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Because I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: be born with issues with my brain and my spine. And,
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: you know, so that is something that I would like
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: people to know. You know, I don't have to look
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: like what I'm going through. Exactly.
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah.
• 14:29
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I agree with you.
• 14:33
  Speaker 7: Girl, listen, okay?
• 14:36
  Speaker 6: No, just like she said, it's like a snowflake. You know,
• 14:41
  Speaker 6: and no two snowflakes are the same. You and her
• 14:45
  Speaker 6: have the same exact condition, but yet we go.
• 14:48
  Speaker 7: Through the different scenarios. You know what I'm saying?
• 14:51
  Speaker 6: And, I mean, even to the point where now she's
• 14:53
  Speaker 6: still walking and I'm not walking. You know, it's just
• 14:56
  Speaker 6: one of those things where Doctors said I would never walk,
• 15:00
  Speaker 6: but I walked from like the age of three to
• 15:02
  Speaker 6: like my late 30s.
• 15:04
  Speaker 7: And then, you know, the weight and my height, it.
• 15:07
  Speaker 6: Just became a bit too much for me to have
• 15:08
  Speaker 6: to do. So now I'm in a wheelchair. So it's
• 15:11
  Speaker 6: different in a lot of ways, but it's also the same.
• 15:14
  Speaker 6: And if people could be.
• 15:16
  Speaker 7: Just like you said, if people could be a fly
• 15:18
  Speaker 7: on the wall when we have a conversation, they would
• 15:20
  Speaker 7: probably be like, Wait a minute. What are they talking about?
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: Because we talk about everything. I mean, everything.
• 15:28
  Speaker 6: And so to be able to have somebody who can
• 15:31
  Speaker 6: relate on that level where you can just you don't
• 15:34
  Speaker 6: have to feel funny about. we're discussing the bowel part
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: or discussing the bladder part. You don't have to feel
• 15:40
  Speaker 6: funny with that. We just be like, girl, you know,
• 15:42
  Speaker 6: this happened to me today. And this girl, you are
• 15:45
  Speaker 6: not going to believe what just happened to me. And
• 15:49
  Speaker 6: to have a sister and a friend like that is
• 15:52
  Speaker 6: God sent because I didn't grow up that way.
• 15:54
  Speaker 7: I had sisters, I had siblings, but nobody had spina bifida.
• 15:59
  Speaker 7: Now I'm not saying that in my biological family, there isn't.
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: I have a brother who also has spina bifida, but
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: If I didn't know that, I would have never had.
• 16:08
  Speaker 7: Nobody to relate to understand what I'm doing.
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: And I think that's a good thing when you have
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: somebody that has a similar condition because you can relate
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: and you can compare the notes of what you're going through.
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: And I can honestly say that I don't really have
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: many people for me personally that I can talk to
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: about this condition. And I've had to learn what I've
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: learned on my own. And so I share what I've
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: learned with other people. And it's like, I don't look
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: like all of the things that I've.
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: Gone through with dealing with this.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: You know, people wouldn't know that I had a stroke.
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: And that's what led to my diagnosis. And then a
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: few years after that, I had a major flare up
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: where it affected my voice and my ability to walk.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: And so all of those things are similar to, you know,
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: your stories as well. And people think that Chiari is
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: just headaches and it's not, it's basically the cerebellum. The
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: cerebellum is the central, um, System for your bodily functions.
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: And so if that's not functioning properly, then I'm not
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: going to function properly. And so it's one of those
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: things where it's a constant battle of letting people know
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: that I I'm dealing with something. But just because today
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: I look fine, at least even in this moment, I
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: look fine. five minutes from now it could be a
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: whole different story right you know.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: Because like doing the wedding for.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: My son like i i cooked all the food and
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: everything and then um we had the rehearsal then we
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: had the wedding and then um i set up for
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: the reception and all of that and by the end
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: of the night now i was fine as long as
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: i was up moving and doing everything but the instant
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: i sat down My entire body felt like it was
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: falling apart, like there was so much pain that I
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: was in. And I was trying to explain that to Dion.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: And he's like, well, why are you hurting?
• 18:31
  Speaker 7: What do you mean?
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: Why am I hurting?
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: I've been up since five thirty this morning and I've
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: been back and forth from this spot to this spot,
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: walking down on the beach, walking back, doing it. bending,
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: doing all of these things. So my body literally has
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: now gotten to a space to where I am shutting down.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: And so I had to take two days to really recover.
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: But even before I was allowed to recover, the incident
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: with my children's tire blow up, blowed out. And so
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: I didn't get an opportunity to rest right then. So
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: I had to take two days to really be in
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: the bed to really get somewhat back to the normalcy
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: that I have and trying to explain that to someone
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: who sees the outer shell but doesn't know what the
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: inside is actually doing.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: It's difficult.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Has there ever been a situation where you felt like
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: you were basically kind of pressured to perform even though
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: you knew what your limitations were?
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: My first marriage was a whole performance trying to explain
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: to my ex-husband what I was dealing with was crazy
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: and one thing that I do know what that has
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: taught me is that people that don't have any type
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: of disability will never understand it if they don't take
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: the time to learn what you're dealing with. This time
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: around with my husband now, if I don't look right,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: he ready to take me to the hospital. Him and
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: his parents, they tried their best to be accommodating and
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: understanding of what I'm dealing with. No, they don't know
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: you know, the ins and outs of spina bifida. They
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: may have never even heard of it prior to me.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: And to be honest, I never knew what spina bifida
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: was until I joined Facebook. And they have all of
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: these support groups on Facebook. And that was how I learned,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: you know, a lot of the things that my doctors
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: didn't even tell me. And moving from South Carolina to Georgia,
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: The doctors there are by far the best doctors ever
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: when it came to spina bifida. Here in South Carolina,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: we don't have spina bifida doctors. So being somewhere where
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: I had access to that meant the world to me
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: because I go through things with my kidneys. More so
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: than anything. I have bladder infections. And kidney infections. More
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: than the law should allow. I had sepsis earlier. No
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: that was last year. But it was because of my kidneys.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: And my bladder. Because of the spina bifida. Not being
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: able to empty my bladder completely. Put me in the
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: hospital for four days. And during that four day hospital stay.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I was told that had I not gone to the
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: doctor when I went, I could have died. Being told
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: that you could have died is something that I have
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: heard a lot throughout my life. Starting at birth, you know,
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: I'm not, according to doctors, I'm not supposed to be here.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Then having Deontay. You know, at 16, you know, you
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: have a disability. You shouldn't be having a child. And,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: you know, then other things, I've had a heart attack.
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: It's a countless list of things that happens. And, you know,
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: it's like one thing that I'm very, very big on
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: advocating for yourself. because of the things that I've had
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: to endure just in my journey alone. And Tonya, you've
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: been there when I had to, when I lost my
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: speech and the doctor looking at me like I'm crazy
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: because I'm also trying to tell him, yes, I had
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: a brain aneurysm. That's not the issue anymore. I still
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: need these other tests to be ran. And when you
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: don't have doctors who are willing to listen to what
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: you're telling them it makes the frustration even harder because
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: it's like i live in this body 24 hours a
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: day 365 days a year so i know when something
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: is not right and just because you've read something in
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: a textbook and i'm telling you something that doesn't fit
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: your textbook diagnosis doesn't mean i'm not experiencing what i'm
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: experiencing And I need you to listen. And so I
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: finally found a neurologist in Greenville who actually listens. And
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: when like I had a crazy thing that happened and
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: I'm used to my left side going numb because of
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: my stroke.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: And my right side went numb and I was driving.
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: And it scared me. It didn't last very long, maybe
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: five seconds, but that was five seconds too long for me.
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: And so I called my doctor and I was like, Hey, listen,
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: this is a symptom that I'm experiencing.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: I haven't experienced this on this side. What should I do?
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: He was like, well, you need to come and see
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: me now.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: And so I went and saw him and he was like, okay, well,
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: you need to get some blood work done. And he
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: was like, well, just go back to your primary care.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: And before I even got downstairs out of the office,
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: he said, uh-uh, come back here. You're going to get
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: these labs done today before you leave. And I was like, okay.
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: And so I did my labs, and obviously he put
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: a rush on them. By the time I got back
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: to Spartanburg, he had called me. He said, you need
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: to get to your primary care provider now. Your B12
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: levels are extremely low. and if your b12 levels are
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: low which i had no idea it affected the numbness
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: like your neuropathy type system your nerves and stuff i
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: didn't know that and he was like you need to
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: get there now because you need an injection and i
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: had called my primary care provider and you know it's
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: if you have the bridge in place to where your
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: primary care provider referred you to this neurologist, you don't
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: necessarily need all of that extra paperwork of being able
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: to release medical records because it's the bridge that's been created. However,
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: I had some new people working at my primary care
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: provider's office and they would not release the information to
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: my neurologist.
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: And so it was so frustrating.
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: And so when I finally did get there, it was like, okay,
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: I had to have two injections a week. And I
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: was taking the supplement as well because it was that low.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: And so I had to do that for like a
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: month until it came to a normal range again. And
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: so now I can tell when I'm not in... up
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: to par with that, so to speak, because I can
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: feel that. And so it's like having him. And when
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: I first started seeing him, he was so upset because
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: he was like, it's been a year and you have
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: not had a MRI.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: What is wrong? Why hasn't your doctor ordered this? Because
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: you are.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: A stroke patient. You also have Chiari malformation. You also
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: have had a brain aneurysm. Like he studied my medical file.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: So he knew all of this. And so he was upset.
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: He was like, you are supposed to have this done
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: every year, regardless if you feel fine, if there's no
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: new symptoms, it does not matter. You need to have
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: this done every single year. And then when I was
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: having some other issues and he was like, this is
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: beyond my scope. So I'm going to refer you out
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: to someone else. And you don't find many doctors that
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: are willing to do that, to say that they don't
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: know and to reach out to other doctors who are
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: a little bit more in tune with other parts of
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: the condition that I have been dealing with. And so
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: it was new and different for him. And he was like, okay,
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: This right now is a little above what I've been doing.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to refer you to someone else. And
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: I was grateful for that. And finding like moving now
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: is like finding a new doctor. And people are like, well,
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: why are you driving all the way back? Because I
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: found doctors that actually know my history. And I don't
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: want to have to fight for what I've already gained.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: So I will do the driving to get what I need.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: versus trying to fight all over again and advocating twice
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: as hard when I've already did the advocating.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: And we have this relationship set up.
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: So it's like when you find a doctor that listens
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: and knows what you're going through and not just always
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: recommending a different type of surgery, different type of this
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: and different type of that, different type of medication, like
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: you are the guinea pig, it's Because I'm quick to
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: say I'm not trying that because you want to do
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: a test run. You may have gotten a kickback from,
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: you know, this rep for this particular thing. And me
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: working in health care gives me that opportunity to say, hey, look,
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: I'm not your guinea pig. I know because you're telling
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: me if I start this medication that I'm going to
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: have to wean myself off of it. I already know
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: that it takes 14 days for a medication to get
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: in your system to know whether or not it's going
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: to be beneficial to you. After those 14 days, you
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: can stop that medication. You don't have to go through
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: with being so-called addicted to this medicine and having to
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: wean yourself off of it.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: And so once learning all.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: Of that when I was in school, And then talking
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: to the doctors and talking to the reps of these
• 30:01
  Speaker 3: different medications and things of that nature.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: It's like, you're not going to get over on me.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: We can argue about this medication.
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: But I'm going to go ahead and tell you, I'm
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: not going to take it because I'm not even going
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: to go pick it up because I'm going to research
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: the side effects of this medication. And if the side
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: effects are going to be more detrimental to me taking
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: them or it's going to create a new symptom. then, baby,
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to take it because I can't.
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: Like, let's let me bring in my car to you
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: for an oil change.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: You telling me that I need three new tires, which
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: my tires are fine. There's nothing wrong with my tires.
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: I just have new tires put on it. But that's
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: what you're trying to tell me. So I came for
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: an oil change. I need you to change my oil.
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: Don't try to give me another symptom that it's not
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: an issue. So I know you guys have had these
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: experiences as well. how have you dealt with those kinds
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: of experiences when it happened.
• 31:04
  Speaker 7: For me um.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: I i don't allow a doctor to just look at
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: me and prescribe something um because i've done that before
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: um i went to a doctor um And I ranted
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: about it on Facebook for years about don't see this
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: doctor because she don't care. This lady looked at me
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: the first day that I walked in and I was
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: telling her about the spasms that I was having in
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: the back of my head. She gave me three medications.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: They were all the same, but different dosages. To start
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: out with this small one, if it doesn't work, add
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: the second one. If that doesn't work, stop the first two,
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: take the third one, and take it three times a day.
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: No ma'am.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: No ma'am. No ham. We're not about to do any
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: of that because you have not even put your hand
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: on me to try and, you know, do what doctors
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: do to, you know, before you even try to prescribe
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: me something. And then she Told me she had to leave.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Because she had an emergency surgery. She had to go handle.
• 32:32
  Speaker 7: So. You know.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I still tell people. Not to go see. That particular doctor.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: I want to say her name so bad.
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: But.
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: I had a doctor do me like that.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: One time. I was having some really bad. Chest pains.
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: And I had gone to the ER.
• 32:54
  Speaker 4: And.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: Not fully knowing what I was dealing with because I've
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: been having palpitations most of my life, did not know
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: that that was part of Chiari at all. So having
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: these really bad chest pains and I went to my
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: primary care doctor, went to him and he wrote me
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: a prescription for Zoloft because I was crying and told
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: me that I was having an anxiety attack.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: And I was like, This isn't anxiety.
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: I'm crying because I'm in pain and you want to
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: write me a prescription for an anxiety depression medication.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: I'm not depressed. This is not anxiety.
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: They told me at the ER that if I was
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: not feeling better to come and see my primary care provider,
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: that is what I'm doing here today. And you want
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: to write me a prescription for a medication that is
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: not for what I'm, I'm dealing with. And so I
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: took the prescription and, And this was really the first
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: time I had ever shown my behind and a doctor's office.
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: And I had my boys with me and I had
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: to apologize to them because I said to this, I said,
• 34:03
  Speaker 3: if my ass falls dead in this parking lot out here,
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: just know that my family's going to come for you
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: because I came to you for help. And you sat
• 34:13
  Speaker 3: here and told me that I am depressed because I'm crying.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: And so I, When I said that he called me
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: back in, he was like, well, I said, we haven't
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: done anything.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: We haven't done one single thing. You wrote out a
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: prescription because you didn't want to deal with me today.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: I said, so I had to threaten you to even
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: get this far. So needless to say, I went to
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: the lab, got my blood and all that stuff done.
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: And then I had an appointment with the gastro internalist. Now,
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: mind you, my primary care provider said, Called this doctor,
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: basically said that I was crazy, that there was this, this,
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: that and the third.
• 34:54
  Speaker 7: Wow.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: So I get here for the appointment and he's like, well,
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: I don't think we're going to find anything. I said, listen,
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: I know my doctor called you and he told you
• 35:07
  Speaker 3: that I was crazy. I said, I'm not crazy. And
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: what I need you to do is do your job.
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: Don't try to diagnose my mental status right now because
• 35:16
  Speaker 3: you don't know. You haven't run any tests. You haven't
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: done your job. And until you do your job by
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: running these tests, then we can talk about what's actually
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: going on because you don't know and you don't live
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: in this body. So you can't tell me what's wrong
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: with me. So needless to say, I had the procedure done.
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: When I went back for my results, guess what? The
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: doctor apologized to me because there was a reason why.
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: I was having those chest pains. Basically, the muscles in
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: my esophagus, they were contracting.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: They were not releasing.
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: So that was causing the chest pain. And so he
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: was like, I have to apologize because I really didn't
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: think we were going to find anything. I said, well,
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: let me go ahead and stop you right there. I said,
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: had you done the job the first time without listening
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: to what someone else was telling you, then you would
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: not even.
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: Have to apologize.
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: I said, so here going forward, I hope you will
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: listen to your patient versus someone else because your patient
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: is the person that's telling you what is wrong with them.
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: And you as a doctor took an oath to actually
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: serve for your patient and not for another clinic person
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: or whatever. And a colleague, and he was like, you're
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: absolutely right. I said, I don't necessarily accept your apology
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: because I wish you would have better bedside manner and
• 36:39
  Speaker 3: actually listen to your patient first. I said, but I
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: thank you for actually doing what you were supposed to do.
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: I said, but we didn't have to have this conversation
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: had you done what I asked you to do the
• 36:51
  Speaker 3: first time.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: And so.
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: It's frustrating when you have to advocate so hard for
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: yourself and especially Black women.
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: We are really.
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: overlooked because they always think that we just because we
• 37:08
  Speaker 3: have some of us have a high tolerance for pain
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: that we are just seeking medication when we have to
• 37:15
  Speaker 3: go to the hospital and we're not just drug seeking
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: we're seeking relief from what we're actually dealing with because
• 37:22
  Speaker 3: if that's.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Frustrating if they're honest the drugs that they give you don't.
• 37:27
  Speaker 3: Work exactly Exactly. Like they don't touch the man that
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: you're dealing with. They don't touch anything. And it's like,
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: now you.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Created me a whole nother problem.
• 37:40
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: Like I don't spend this money. This medicine ain't even helping.
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: And you think that it's all in my head. Mind
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: over matter. No, it's not mind over matter. I came
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: for help. And you looked at me as a drug
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: seeking person. it's the last resort before I have to
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: go to the hospital. And when I say the last resort,
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: I will figure out everything that I have actually come
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: to learn from having to go. So let me see,
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: let me try this home remedy of the things that
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: I've tried before and see if this works.
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: And if this doesn't work, then I'm going to have
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: to break down and go.
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: And That's the thing, because my dad, especially since I've
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: been up there with him, he's like, well.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: You need to go to the doctor. You need me
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: to take you?
• 38:32
  Speaker 7: No, I don't.
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: Because right now, let me try what I work on
• 38:37
  Speaker 3: and see if this works.
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: And if it works, then I'm good.
• 38:40
  Speaker 3: If it's outside of that, if it's another symptom that
• 38:43
  Speaker 3: I can't manage, then yeah, we're going to have to
• 38:47
  Speaker 3: go to the ER.
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: But outside of that, no.
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: For me, I don't have to worry about that part
• 38:54
  Speaker 6: per se because by the grace of God, I grew
• 38:57
  Speaker 6: up in a medical-based family.
• 38:59
  Speaker 7: My mom was a nurse. I grew up around nurses.
• 39:03
  Speaker 6: I grew up advocating for myself. I grew up watching
• 39:06
  Speaker 6: my mom do it. Even her doing it without me
• 39:09
  Speaker 6: knowing she's doing it. She's on phone calls and she's
• 39:13
  Speaker 6: She being nice nasty. So I know how to be
• 39:15
  Speaker 6: nice nasty. I know how to, you ain't going to
• 39:17
  Speaker 6: talk to me crazy. You ain't going to come at
• 39:20
  Speaker 6: me like, no, we're not going to do that.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: Exactly.
• 39:23
  Speaker 7: So any doctors I deal with, for one, they knew
• 39:28
  Speaker 7: my law. Right. two, they know I don't play them games.
• 39:32
  Speaker 7: So we're not going to do that. I know my body.
• 39:34
  Speaker 7: I know what I've been dealing with.
• 39:36
  Speaker 6: So even with Uralis I deal with now, he's like,
• 39:39
  Speaker 6: you already know yourself.
• 39:40
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I do. So I live in his body. I've
• 39:42
  Speaker 7: been in his body 49 years. I know what his
• 39:45
  Speaker 7: body does. So we're not going to do any of
• 39:47
  Speaker 7: that stupidness. We have to do that. But I also
• 39:51
  Speaker 7: had to not only advocate for myself, but I had
• 39:54
  Speaker 7: to advocate for my ex-husband.
• 39:56
  Speaker 6: So he kind of misses that now because why? Because
• 39:59
  Speaker 6: you're not going to talk crazy. I worked at the hospital.
• 40:02
  Speaker 6: I worked in a department I never saw myself working in,
• 40:05
  Speaker 6: which is the risk management department. They don't expect people
• 40:08
  Speaker 6: to know about risk management, patient advocates. They don't expect
• 40:11
  Speaker 6: you to know none of that. So what you're not
• 40:12
  Speaker 6: going to do is come crazy.
• 40:13
  Speaker 7: Oh, don't we have to do that? No, no. Where
• 40:16
  Speaker 7: are your patient advocates at? Because we're not going to
• 40:18
  Speaker 7: do that.
• 40:19
  Speaker 6: We're not going to talk to me crazy when I
• 40:21
  Speaker 6: know what the heck I'm talking about. So, yeah, he
• 40:23
  Speaker 6: kind of misses that because, yeah, we're not going to
• 40:26
  Speaker 6: do that. I mean, we even had an incident when
• 40:28
  Speaker 6: he was in the hospital and they had this doctor
• 40:31
  Speaker 6: and he was, I have nothing against foreigners, but if
• 40:33
  Speaker 6: I can't understand clearly what you're saying, you're not going
• 40:36
  Speaker 6: to be on my case.
• 40:39
  Speaker 7: His case.
• 40:40
  Speaker 6: So, I nicely got the doctor that was on his
• 40:42
  Speaker 6: case and I said, we're going to need a new
• 40:44
  Speaker 6: doctor over here because We're not going to prescribe some
• 40:48
  Speaker 6: medication and I don't know what he's saying.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 40:51
  Speaker 7: We're just not going to do that.
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: Because if you're compliant.
• 40:54
  Speaker 7: He had another doctor? Yeah.
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: If you're compliant, then they think that you're already giving consent.
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: And they want you to be because they don't think
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: you're supposed.
• 41:04
  Speaker 7: To know anything.
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: And it's that implied consent. And it's like, no, I
• 41:08
  Speaker 3: didn't consent to anything.
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: That ain't what I said. That's hard.
• 41:14
  Speaker 6: That is very hard. So I don't subscribe to any
• 41:17
  Speaker 6: of that. By the grace of God, I have not
• 41:20
  Speaker 6: had to have too many of those situations. No, I'm
• 41:24
  Speaker 6: already going to come in there and I'm going to
• 41:25
  Speaker 6: let you know what I know, how I know it,
• 41:28
  Speaker 6: and what I'm going to do with it. So then
• 41:29
  Speaker 6: when you come to me, you're not going to come
• 41:31
  Speaker 6: to me with, well, she don't know what she's talking about.
• 41:34
  Speaker 7: So don't come to her with this present because she's
• 41:36
  Speaker 7: not going to fall under that. You're not going to
• 41:38
  Speaker 7: prescribe to none of that. I promise you. Exactly. And
• 41:42
  Speaker 7: I have no problem with going to another doctor. Why?
• 41:45
  Speaker 7: Because you ain't the only cat in town.
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 41:49
  Speaker 3: Like, they quick to say, well, you ain't going to
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: find another. I hope I don't find.
• 41:54
  Speaker 7: Another doctor like you.
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: Like another you. Absolutely not. Like, you're not hurting my
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: feelings at all.
• 42:00
  Speaker 7: Not to find another you. Exactly. Exactly.
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: Now, as growing up, have you guys ever had to
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: deal with your self-esteem being affected by your condition?
• 42:14
  Speaker 7: Yes, absolutely. Most definitely. Because of it.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: That, along with the bullying.
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: For me, it went hand in hand.
• 42:25
  Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: Them picking on me for something that I have zero
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: control over. Um, really my, my self esteem took a
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: very big hit. Um, and to be honest, um, it
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: wasn't till recently where I started looking at myself and
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: with different lenses. Um, I'm not, I'm, I'm not who
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: I was before. 10, 20 years ago. I'm not even
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: who I was five minutes ago. Um, you know, and I,
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: and I, I know my worth now. Um, and nobody
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: can convince me different. Um, you know, I, I, my
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: life has a purpose. God placed me here. I've been,
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: I've been here rocking 47 years. Um, you know, doctor
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: said that I wouldn't, um, they, they canceled me out
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: by age nine. And God said no. So, you know,
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: as long as God keeps me here, I'm going to
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: keep moving. My movement may not be as fast as
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: it once was, but I keep going.
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: Things hurt my feelings. I'm a very soft-hearted person, so
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: it doesn't.
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: Take much to hurt my feelings.
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: And that's one thing that will probably never change about me.
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: But I'm learning to deal with things in a way
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: that works best for me. So, yeah, my self-esteem is
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: up here now.
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: Well, listen, that's a good thing.
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: And I understand, you know, that Being differently able. It
• 44:22
  Speaker 3: ain't no, you're limited because you have a condition.
• 44:28
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 44:28
  Speaker 3: But being differently able, it can play a major role
• 44:35
  Speaker 3: in how you view yourself.
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 44:37
  Speaker 3: Like, for me, before my stroke and before all of
• 44:41
  Speaker 3: this other stuff, the main thing that I got picked
• 44:44
  Speaker 3: on for was being short and having a big butt.
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: And it's like neither one of those things I could
• 44:52
  Speaker 3: do anything about.
• 44:53
  Speaker 7: Right.
• 44:54
  Speaker 3: So, you know, it's like and so I got picked
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: on for that. And it was like, well, what do
• 45:00
  Speaker 3: y'all want me to do? I can't do anything about
• 45:03
  Speaker 3: my height. Both my parents are short. Their mothers were short.
• 45:07
  Speaker 3: There was no hope for me as far as height
• 45:10
  Speaker 3: wise goes. And for the way my curves are. I
• 45:17
  Speaker 3: didn't have a say so in that either. So it's like,
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: what do you want me to say?
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: What do you want me to do?
• 45:25
  Speaker 3: Like my grandson, y'all, he refers to me as his
• 45:29
  Speaker 3: tiny grandma.
• 45:31
  Speaker 7: Oh, wow.
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he says I'm the tiny grandma. So I'm like,
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: I'll be the tiny grandma. Like he literally comes to
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: my chest and he's only three.
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, baby.
• 45:49
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 45:50
  Speaker 8: He said, Grandma, you're really tiny. You're really small. I said, yes, baby,
• 46:03
  Speaker 8: I really am.
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: I mean, there's no argument there. He's very observant. So
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: you kind of got a point, baby. Grandma can't even
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: argue with you. You know, and then his other grandma,
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: she is tall. So he's like, you're my tiny grandma.
• 46:24
  Speaker 3: So when he's talking to his mom, he's like, tiny
• 46:28
  Speaker 3: grandma said this.
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: Or tiny grandma said this.
• 46:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so, but he calls me grandma, but he will
• 46:38
  Speaker 3: refer to me when he's talking to somebody as the
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: tiny grandma. So I can't do nothing but laugh because
• 46:46
  Speaker 3: it's like, I mean, it is what it is.
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: I'm the tiny grandma.
• 46:51
  Speaker 6: Well, as for me and being, having self-esteem issues, et cetera,
• 46:57
  Speaker 6: I've been dealing with self-esteem issues probably way before I
• 47:00
  Speaker 6: got picked on. I just was never really all that
• 47:04
  Speaker 6: happy about myself. And I think it's because I struggled
• 47:06
  Speaker 6: with at first wondering why my parents gave up their
• 47:09
  Speaker 6: only girl.
• 47:11
  Speaker 7: That was the struggle for me.
• 47:12
  Speaker 6: And then I would always try to figure out why
• 47:17
  Speaker 6: my brother after me wasn't born with a disability.
• 47:20
  Speaker 7: So it was like, okay, well, what was wrong with me?
• 47:21
  Speaker 7: So then I said to.
• 47:22
  Speaker 6: Myself, okay, well, maybe that's why they gave me up
• 47:24
  Speaker 6: because I wasn't perfect. So I have struggled with that
• 47:30
  Speaker 6: for a long time. Didn't deal with it much in
• 47:32
  Speaker 6: New York because it's a melting pot. They don't pick
• 47:35
  Speaker 6: with you in New York.
• 47:36
  Speaker 7: In New York, you just blend in. You just It
• 47:38
  Speaker 7: didn't matter. I had boyfriends. I had friends. It wasn't
• 47:41
  Speaker 7: a problem.
• 47:42
  Speaker 6: Moving to Virginia and country was a whole nother ball
• 47:47
  Speaker 6: of wax.
• 47:48
  Speaker 7: And when I tell you another ball of wax, another
• 47:50
  Speaker 7: ball of wax. And to the point where I.
• 47:53
  Speaker 6: Moved, we moved like 14, 15 years old. So I
• 47:57
  Speaker 6: stood out like the plague. I stood out like I
• 47:59
  Speaker 6: had HIV. Like they had never seen a disabled person
• 48:03
  Speaker 6: in their entire life. And it was like a freaking
• 48:05
  Speaker 6: freak show. And so I was picked on, I was seized.
• 48:08
  Speaker 6: It was just unreal. And that's when it, that's when
• 48:12
  Speaker 6: the self-esteem came down. Cause I had self-esteem in New York.
• 48:16
  Speaker 6: It didn't bother me. I was good. But here it
• 48:19
  Speaker 6: was a whole nother ball game. It was like, Ooh, okay.
• 48:24
  Speaker 7: Well, all right. This is your problem, ma'am. So I
• 48:27
  Speaker 7: had to deal with that.
• 48:28
  Speaker 6: And then wanting to unalive myself became the problem and
• 48:32
  Speaker 6: wanted to be out was the problem.
• 48:34
  Speaker 7: I just, I had no desire to live. No desire
• 48:38
  Speaker 7: to do so. Hi, boo-boo.
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: Hey, baby.
• 48:43
  Speaker 7: Oh.
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: Oh. You want to come too? We're about to get out.
• 48:55
  Speaker 2: It's just the me.
• 48:57
  Speaker 7: Hi, beautiful. Hey, copy and paste.
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: Hey, copy and paste. If you can see you see
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: that little finger.
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: Like I have two one on each hand and so
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: people used to make fun of me um because baby
• 49:22
  Speaker 3: listen uh y'all i'm sorry she is stripping she's came
• 49:26
  Speaker 3: home so you know um.
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: She got to get comfortable.
• 49:30
  Speaker 7: Right. It ain't even her. It's the big one over here.
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: Hey, let's go.
• 49:33
  Speaker 7: Let's go.
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: Hey, y'all. I'm sorry. I'll be done in a minute, baby.
• 49:37
  Speaker 7: Oh, yeah.
• 49:51
  Speaker 6: That's where I kind of dealt with wow I live.
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: For these distractions so the Lord knew I needed that
• 50:00
  Speaker 2: distraction the Lord knew I.
• 50:02
  Speaker 9: Needed it so you know being able to look at
• 50:08
  Speaker 9: yourself as a whole and know that you're whole not
• 50:12
  Speaker 9: just because you were born different from someone else God
• 50:16
  Speaker 9: created you in the image that he saw fit for
• 50:19
  Speaker 9: you And once we start.
• 50:21
  Speaker 3: To understand that there is nothing wrong with us because
• 50:25
  Speaker 3: God's image was perfect when he created us. And so
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: somebody else who has an issue, that's their issue, not ours.
• 50:34
  Speaker 7: You know?
• 50:34
  Speaker 3: Exactly. He doesn't limit us to what other people say.
• 50:43
  Speaker 3: He never has and he never will. And so when.
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: You.
• 50:48
  Speaker 3: Are focused on the purpose in which God has created you.
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: You are not limited to what man says. And one
• 50:58
  Speaker 3: thing I have learned is that when I started telling
• 51:03
  Speaker 3: these doctors, I don't have to listen to nothing you
• 51:05
  Speaker 3: tell me. God didn't tell me that. God didn't tell
• 51:08
  Speaker 3: me I wasn't going to walk again. God didn't tell
• 51:10
  Speaker 3: me I wasn't going to speak again. God didn't say that.
• 51:13
  Speaker 3: You might have said I had to get used to that,
• 51:15
  Speaker 3: but baby, I ain't got to get used to that because.
• 51:17
  Speaker 2: God didn't say so.
• 51:20
  Speaker 3: I have moved on from all of that, but what
• 51:24
  Speaker 3: advice would you give to someone who is trying to
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: love somebody that is differently abled from them and how
• 51:35
  Speaker 3: can they be a source of support versus a I.
• 51:42
  Speaker 2: Don't want to say My hindering?
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: Yes, because sometimes that can be what that is.
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: In my opinion, you know, when you take on a
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: partner that eventually, if you choose to, you marry that person,
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: and in your vows it says... sickness and health better
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: or worse and you plan to grow old with this
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: person just because you were born with a disability doesn't
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: mean that at some point something won't happen with them
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: so I in my head I'm like put yourself in
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: my shoes how would you want me to treat you
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: if it was you um and that's, that's how we
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: maintain everything. Like my, my husband is very understanding. Um,
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: sometimes a little too understanding. Um, but you asked the question,
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: what would I tell somebody? Um, as far as, um,
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: I will never say, don't listen to your doctor, but
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: I will say, listen to your, yourself first. Cause you
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: live in that body. Um, They practice medicine. So whatever
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: it is that they're practicing is an overall for everybody,
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: not just that individual person. So you have to advocate
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: for yourself. That is something that I will say.
• 53:26
  Speaker 7: Also, I will say that.
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: Spina bifida often goes undiagnosed with some people.
• 53:36
  Speaker 7: Some people have it.
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: And don't find out about it. Until something. Tragic happens.
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: I met someone. A long time ago. That told me.
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: Because of me posting. About spina bifida. They were able
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: to share with me. That they found out they had
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: spina bifida. After being in a car accident. Born with it.
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: But never knew they had it. Because it was a rare.
• 54:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 54:08
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: So, you know, just knowing that it can happen to anybody.
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: It's not, you know, it's not one of those things where,
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: you know, God pick and chose who to give it
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: to and who not to. You know, that's just my
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: stance on it.
• 54:29
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 54:32
  Speaker 6: Well, the way I see it is everybody deserves to
• 54:34
  Speaker 6: be loved, regardless of whatever situation you got going on,
• 54:37
  Speaker 6: whatever you're going with.
• 54:39
  Speaker 7: Everybody deserves to be loved. There's no reason why we
• 54:42
  Speaker 7: shouldn't be loved.
• 54:43
  Speaker 6: And the person that God intends to love you in
• 54:48
  Speaker 6: the state that you're in is going to come into
• 54:50
  Speaker 6: your life. They're just going to come into your life.
• 54:53
  Speaker 6: I mean, I'm dealing with somebody now that they don't care.
• 54:58
  Speaker 7: They don't even see it. It's like not even an issue.
• 55:01
  Speaker 7: It's like, and you got this with it? Oh, okay.
• 55:04
  Speaker 7: And I like that. Because why? Because I don't want
• 55:06
  Speaker 7: to be treated differently.
• 55:07
  Speaker 6: I want to be treated like a female because I'm
• 55:09
  Speaker 6: a female, first and foremost. I mean, I'm a female
• 55:11
  Speaker 6: with a disability. Yes, I have a wheelchair, but a
• 55:14
  Speaker 6: wheelchair is a mode of transportation.
• 55:16
  Speaker 7: A wheelchair is not who I am. So let's get that.
• 55:19
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 55:20
  Speaker 7: That is not who I am. So don't get the
• 55:22
  Speaker 7: wheelchair twisted because it's not who I am. I will
• 55:25
  Speaker 7: come for you quickly as all get out. Take foot
• 55:27
  Speaker 7: pedals or armrests. No problem. I can be good. Good
• 55:31
  Speaker 7: and holy. Yeah. Good and holy. I can do that.
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 55:36
  Speaker 7: I'm just saying. I'm just saying. So when I tell
• 55:39
  Speaker 7: you I want to deal with somebody who's going to
• 55:42
  Speaker 7: deal with me on a level of me being a female.
• 55:44
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 55:44
  Speaker 7: First and foremost. Right. And so when you deal with
• 55:46
  Speaker 7: me on that level, then I'm good. I don't need.
• 55:48
  Speaker 6: You to baby me or think you got to do
• 55:52
  Speaker 6: so much for me or you got to take care.
• 55:54
  Speaker 7: No. I was raised to take care of myself. In fact,
• 55:57
  Speaker 7: I was raised to take care of myself and other people.
• 56:00
  Speaker 6: Because I took care of my mom for a long
• 56:01
  Speaker 6: time so I know what to do for me and
• 56:04
  Speaker 6: I know how to advocate for myself I know how to.
• 56:06
  Speaker 7: Make calls to do this this this there's.
• 56:09
  Speaker 6: Nothing that I hadn't learned to do for myself because
• 56:12
  Speaker 6: why because I'm a whole adult I'm a whole adult
• 56:15
  Speaker 6: I would.
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: Say for me being married this time is a lot
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: different when we started dating I was like look look
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: here And a lot of people judged me for this,
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: but I led with, I have a disability. That was
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: my first sentence to him. I'm like, look here, I
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: have spina bifida and I have hydrocephalus. And, you know,
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: he was like, what is that? And so I explained
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: it to him. I told him what it was. And
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: I was like, if you need to run now.
• 56:55
  Speaker 7: Run. Run. Because we ain't got no.
• 56:58
  Speaker 2: Energy for that. Exactly.
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't want somebody that's going to be
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: here to pacify me or make me feel smaller than
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: I already feel. So, you know, if this is not
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: the ride for you, I understand.
• 57:16
  Speaker 3: What would you guys say to someone?
• 57:20
  Speaker 2: These are closing thoughts.
• 57:21
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 57:22
  Speaker 2: We're running into, you know, we'll be here all night.
• 57:26
  Speaker 3: But what are your closing thoughts for someone who is
• 57:30
  Speaker 3: either newly diagnosed or is struggling to just exist within
• 57:37
  Speaker 3: themselves because of this condition they feel that they're hindered
• 57:42
  Speaker 3: and they're technically they're not they're their own limitations so
• 57:48
  Speaker 3: you know what would you say to somebody.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: Okay Speaking to myself. In this moment. I'm not a hindrance.
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: I am enough.
• 58:03
  Speaker 7: I am.
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: Wonderfully. And beautifully made. And if. They can't see that.
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: In the way that. I see that. Then they're not
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: the people for you. The people that God.
• 58:19
  Speaker 2: Has for you.
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: They'll love you and love all of you no matter
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: what that looks like. So, yeah, that's where I'm at
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: with that.
• 58:30
  Speaker 7: Thanks, DeeDee.
• 58:33
  Speaker 6: I would say that, like you said, I am enough
• 58:38
  Speaker 6: because I try to instill that.
• 58:41
  Speaker 7: Even in my great nieces. I let them know, you're enough.
• 58:44
  Speaker 6: Nobody can tell you you're not. But I've also been
• 58:47
  Speaker 6: dealing with somebody who's also told me that you may
• 58:50
  Speaker 6: not be perfect, but you're perfect for me. So that
• 58:53
  Speaker 6: lets me know within myself that I don't have to
• 58:55
  Speaker 6: be perfect for you as long as I'm perfect for the.
• 58:58
  Speaker 7: You know what I'm saying?
• 58:59
  Speaker 6: For the way God made me. And he said that
• 59:01
  Speaker 6: God made you perfect. And so I try to walk
• 59:04
  Speaker 6: in that. I try to understand that.
• 59:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 59:07
  Speaker 7: I may not be what you want me to be.
• 59:09
  Speaker 6: I mean, even to the point where I got to
• 59:12
  Speaker 6: deal with adopted and biological people where it's like you're
• 59:16
  Speaker 6: treating me funny because I'm not adhering to what you
• 59:19
  Speaker 6: want me to be like.
• 59:20
  Speaker 7: I'm not going to be what you want me to
• 59:21
  Speaker 7: be like. I'm going to be what God wants me
• 59:22
  Speaker 7: to be like.
• 59:24
  Speaker 6: So I would say that. The doctors can say whatever
• 59:28
  Speaker 6: they want to say. They can prescribe however they want
• 59:30
  Speaker 6: to prescribe you. But God has the final say-so. I
• 59:34
  Speaker 6: have learned that God has the complete and final say-so
• 59:37
  Speaker 6: over my life. I would not be what I'm doing
• 59:39
  Speaker 6: right now because I was supposed to be in a
• 59:40
  Speaker 6: closet and in a room somewhere drooling and carrying on.
• 59:44
  Speaker 7: No, that ain't what God got for me. God said,
• 59:47
  Speaker 7: not so.
• 59:48
  Speaker 6: Even through me at two and a half years old
• 59:50
  Speaker 6: when I told my mama, I'm going to walk with you.
• 59:52
  Speaker 6: And my mama knew right then and there, oh yeah,
• 59:54
  Speaker 6: you got determination to do whatever you want to do.
• 59:56
  Speaker 7: So she already knew right then and there, you're not
• 59:58
  Speaker 7: going to stop this girl. So you're not going to
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 7: stop me. You're not going to tell me I can't be.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 7: I was married. I drive. I worked a job. I
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 7: did everything that they said I wasn't going to do.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 7: I'm currently in college, getting ready to get an associate's
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 7: degree in business. So you can't tell me that I
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 7: ain't going to do. And I'm an author. So listen,
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 7: I don't plan to be one of those.
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 2: And you're going to walk again.
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 7: And I'm going to walk again because, listen, if it's
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 7: the goal that God has for me, and even if
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 7: I don't, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that.
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 7: Because why? Because God has a plan for my life,
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 7: and he's using me to his glory right now. Even
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 7: in my mode of transportation, he's using me to his glory.
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 6: Because when I tell you, don't nothing stop me, okay?
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 7: I promise you. Don't nothing stop this train, okay? I
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 7: promise you that.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 6: So I am just thankful that I could be here.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 7: Thank you, Mr. Vita.
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 2: Let me just say this.
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: I want to thank you both for wearing the shirts tonight.
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: My shirts are still in Georgia. But Trevita, you have
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: on the original shirt that I had made years ago.
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: And I'm so humbled that you still have it.
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 7: And I say that.
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: Because a lot of people, there have been people that
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: bought that shirt and don't know where it is. So
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: the fact that you still have it and you still
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: represent me in the month of October, I.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 2: Love you forever for that.
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: DeeDee, you have on the last one I had made.
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: I'm grateful that you wanted to get that shirt when
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: I got mine. And shout out to Shanique Littlejohn for
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: making that for us. The support means everything. It doesn't
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: change the diagnosis, but it does help. It does help
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: to know that even what you're going through, somebody cares.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: Somebody loves you.
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 7: You're valued. You're needed.
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: And you're worthy and you are enough. Okay, that's my speech.
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: That's my spiel.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 3: Well, I want to thank you both for being here
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 3: with me tonight to share your journey and what the
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 3: journey of walking with Spinal Bifida looks like because people
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 3: want to put you in a box. And as I
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 3: said earlier at the beginning of the show, we don't
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 3: confine to boxes because that's not where God placed us
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 3: to be.
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 2: So we're not in a box.
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 3: But as always, you know what I have to say,
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 3: and that is stay out of God's business. The only
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 3: thing he needs you to do is to be obedient
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 3: to what he's called you to do. Now, I will
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 3: see you two ladies back in two weeks on the
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 3: 22nd so that we can talk about your contributing to
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 3: faith after the fall, how God rebuilt us when life
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 3: fell apart. That book itself, you guys should be receiving
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 3: your copies hopefully before that show airs because my books
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 3: come in on Monday. So I plan to have them
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 3: out by Wednesday. So be looking for it. If you
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 3: have not, those of you who are tuned in, who
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 3: are listening to this show, that is a contributing author
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 3: for this book, Make sure you send me your address
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 3: because if you don't send me your address.
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 2: I ain't going to keep asking for it. Nah.
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 7: So, um, yeah.
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 3: Send me your address so you can get your copy
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 3: of the book because that is my thank you for
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 3: saying yes. But like I said, stay out of God's business.
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 3: The only thing he needs you to do is to
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 3: be obedient to what he's called you to do.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 2: I love you guys. And thanks for tuning in.
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 7: Love you. You don't have to.