Author Visit at Buffalo Trail

Great day spent on Friday, Dec. 5th! I had a wonderful author visit at, Buffalo Trail elementary school. Great group of students! Spent the morning talking about my writing process, editing, working with an illustrator, the writing to publishing process and what it has been like to become a published author. There definitely were some up and come aspiring authors/writers and illustrators. And of course, my inspiration for writing is my son Preston.

 Later that evening, I was at the Barnes & Noble, at the Southlands location. It was great seeing some of the young faces that I had seen earlier that day.

 

Author Visit

What a wonderful morning as the visiting Author, with the K-2 students (330) at Florida Pitt-Waller school, in Green Valley Ranch. Great staff and thanks to the "EWI" group for making this possible! Thanks to Paul McConnell, for the photos!

The 9th Annual Vision Walk

 Check out this segment, We are talking about the vision walk coming up in Den. and Miranda does a great job explaining her eye disease.

A Gift from a Friends Passing

As I set here this morning with my writings and my 2 dogs by my feet sipping on a hot cup of decaf, I get this call from a friend of mine that had recently lost her husband,  and a friend of mine as well. As she fought back the tears to share with me that his corneas were donated to, two different people that live in Colorado; a female and a male. It has helped to restore and overcome blindness. That was the 1^st letter she has received to inform her of her husband’s blessings. She knows how passionate I am about bringing awareness to low vision, and to help restore vision, so to hear that a friend of mine has giving such a gift for something I am so passionate about, I am honored and speechless and I applaud him! She knew that her husband did a great thing by donating his organs, and his son is so proud of him as well! She knew by his generous gift, that would allow the recipients to see the mountains again, or a new liver, kidney etc… and a 2^nd chance of life.  Here’s to you my friend for giving life and vision to those here on this beautiful planet!  He was able to turn something so tragic for those he left behind, to something so wonderful! Your kindness will keep living!

Tori's Journey with Lymphatic Malformation

Tori’s Journey with Lymphatic Malformation

I would like to share this truly amazing young ladies journey with you. I had the pleasure of meeting Tori in person a few weeks ago; I was able to chat with her for awhile. She is incredible, beautiful bright young lady. Tori is getting ready to start college and I am wishing her the best in her journey!  Despite challenges in life she has pushed through them and continues to inspire others! Please feel free to comment on this link as I have tagged Tori. Tori is standing next to her friend Kennedy that also has LM.  Peace!

Our friend Tori has written a little something for us to share on this page. She was also born with Lymphatic Malformation, lives in North Jersey and travels to Boston Children's also for treatment like Kennedy. Recently Tori graduated and is heading off to college soon! She is a super strong girl with a bright future- glad to have their family to go through this journey with. Thank you Tori for sharing...

Hi everyone! I'm Tori, Kennedy's friend I also have Lymphatic Malformations. Here are some things you should know about LM in general and also how it affects me personally!
I guess you could say that my life has been different from most “teenagers’”. I was born with a rare medical condition. It is not hereditary or contagious. I am not disabled - I can do anything and everything anyone else can do. The only difference is my appearance. LM is enlarged tissue that makes me look abnormal compared to other people. I developed this condition before I was even born. It’s one of those “one in a million” things that just sort of happened without my or anyone else’s control. No known food, medicine, or activity during pregnancy can cause this. This isn’t like cancer. There is no “cure” and it’s not a tumor so I can’t just get it “removed”. It is a process of big major-risk surgeries throughout my life that will help correct the abnormality so I will be able to look what you may call “normal”. I have had about 25 different surgeries from when I was 2 months old until now. I am 18 years old.
Being born with this condition I’ve always felt uncomfortable in my own skin. Like I wasn’t supposed to be in this body, like it was some horrible costume that I was desperate to shed out of. Despite the way I looked, though, I never let that stop me from doing what others could do. Even though it took time and hard work, I learned how to swim with my trachea. I joined basketball, softball, dance, ice-skating, gymnastics, and more. I never let my condition affect my capabilities.
Because of my struggle, I’ve learned not only to have more sympathy for people, but also to look at things with a whole new perspective. Along with that, I have a different perspective on myself. I’ve learned to be strong, determined, and motivated. Those qualities are very important to me to have because they will be helpful for me later in the future as I plan to become a counselor. My dream is to inspire people with my story, as well as help them with my own experience. Thanks for reading

August is Amblyopia Awareness Month

As part of Children's eye and safety month, August is also Amblyopia Awareness Month. What is Amblyopia? According to the American Optometric Association, Ambloyopia (or lazy eye) is the loss or lack of development of vision in an eye that is unrelated to any eye health problem. The brain, for some reason, does not acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye. Reduced vision due to amblyopia is not correctable with lenses alone. Amblyopia typically occurs in children before the age of 8, so it is imperative to have your child tested. As you get your Children ready for school, dont forget to take them in for eye exams. Should be done every year!

Writing The New Book!

Writing the next book! "Chomper My Bearded Dragon". Very excited about this one!
Note, this book is not part of the "Patch Land Adventures" series.