My Mini -Bio
Sometimes I like to fantasize about reincarnation – what it might be like to come back to earth again and again, choosing what kind of lifestyle I would like to try – kind of a “re-birther’s choice.”
I really think this is what happened with me! This time, my little angel-soul-spirit-whatever you choose to call it, said to the Lord, “Let me try a life that is a little different!”
“What do you mean, different?” the Lord asked. “You mean, like a bird, or a fish, or perhaps some type of four-legged mammal this time?’
“No,” I carefully replied,” I mean, can you please let me try being a person with a little bit of challenge to it. Nothing as severe as total physical or mental deprivation – but perhaps a life with some strange twists and turns. I’d like to see how I weather the storms of the unexpected, and truly bizarre.”
“Ok, “said the Almighty. “This, we can do! Just don’t forget to call on me if you really get jammed up and remember that this time you have to be ready for any and all really weird things that I toss at you,” He finished with a nod of his massive head, and called a special Guardian Angel to accompany me to this next flight to Earth. The angel had a pained expression on its face, yet was totally obedient to the One Most High, and firmly taking my chubby little cherub arm in his hand, together we flew back down to earth.
The first thing I remember as I entered the world was being very, very cold! There were lots of voices all around me – some yelling, some talking in hushed tones. Of course, I could not see but I could hear! Beautiful church bells filled the air. I later on found out that I took my first breath as we passed St. John’s church in Beacon, NY. , Having made my first over-the-water trip at the tender age of minus 1 to 2 hours, my tiny body was nestled in loving arms and under a huge tweed coat – in the back seat of a 1945 Plymouth, on the Duchess Ferry boat, as it bumped and coursed through the choppy ice on the Hudson River – between Newburgh and Beacon, NY.
Well, so far, the good Lord kept his promise! My birth made the local newspapers and was talked about for a long time to come. I even earned a knick name – Duchess – before the age of two days old. How many kids can claim that?!
The rest of my life pretty much followed in the same fashion: if the world zigged, I zagged. If it crumbled, my head peeked out through patches of either clover or weeds. But, I refused to give in, or call it a day. If the teenage citizens of the world were all scooting off to college, so did I – for a while. Then, I decided to give marriage and motherhood a try. As a result, my kids and I grew up together and while we survived some really stormy seas, we all became the best of companions, blood-line friends and confidants. This put me in the curious position of being a kind of counselor to my friends who all got married and had kids later than I did – and who turned to me for support and my thus far acquired knowledge.
That had a very curious up-shot, many years later! In middle age, I was slammed with a very rare disease, called Entamoeba histolytica, which caused me to get another very rare disease. The first one nearly killed me, thanks to a flesh-eating microbe that devoured my entire lower intestine, live. The second one, called Osteonecrosis, or 'dead bones', was caused by the medications given to me during that time (powerful corticosteroids), and which in turn, began to kill off my skeleton, joint by joint.Undaunted by these weird turns of events, 19 years ago I started a support system for all those who suffered from Osteonecrosis, or Avascular necrosis. The result? The world's first -- and so far only -- non profit Association for that disease, which became international with literally thousands of members. Stop by my website sometime at http://avnsupport.org
Years later, I beat the “C” monster, too, thanks to ovarian cancer. I now have several body parts up in heaven ahead of me, waiting for my eventual return. It’s really strange that I am still here, when I stop to think about it. But, “strange” is what I asked for! Sporting multi-artificial joints, and with now more than 30 surgeries to my credit, I let nothing stop me for very long, and today I enjoy a very rich, full and often energetic life.
I tried much, sampling all kinds of things the world offered. Of them all, music remained my mainstay – and I became what some call an accomplished musician and pianist/organist. Music became my anchor and it saw me through some pretty tough times, such as divorce, death of my parents, dealing with my sometimes off the wall teen age kids. And now, as an older adult, music is like the tapestry that I wove along the years of my life, a tapestry I can enjoy dragging out and examining over and over again. As a professional pianist-accompanist for a local performing choral group, my life has only gotten busier in my later years. Wow! Who would have thought?!
Yes, the good Lord kept his word: my life was filled with the bizarre. But, I kept mine, too and turned to Him more often than not. So far, my life has been an adventure just chock-full of the unexpected and truly unusual. You know what they say: be careful what you pray for - you just might get it!
Peace, all!
