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Listen to Patricia Wilson-Smith and Brenda Johnson of Black Women for Obama on WAOK 1380 Atlanta!
The Georgia Black Women for Obama Chapter is SO excited to announce the first ever fundraiser for Senator Barack Obama!
”A Night At the Atrium: A Fundraiser for Obama for America” will be held on November 10, 2007 at 7 pm at the historic ”Atrium at Sweet Auburn”, located at in the heart of Atlanta at 236 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, 30303. What better place to come together to celebrate the candidacy of man who promises to bring all the people of our nation together than Sweet Auburn Avenue!
If you are in the Atlanta area, you are in for a MAJOR treat! The ladies of BWFO will be in attendance, along with some of the most influential people in the Atlanta area. WAOK’s host of “The Right Side”, Shelley Wynter will be speaking, as will Reverend Wilbur Purvis of Destiny World Church.
We have worked tirelessly to spread the word about Senator Obama over the last several months, but let’s face it – in the end, it’s about how much money can we get flowing into his campaign coffers, and the dynamic women of the Georgia Chapter of Black Women for Obama headed up by Joyce Spraggs has done amazing things to pull this all together!
Why is it important to get the money flowing? Money = exposure. Air time. Campaign materials, rent for offices, etc. The candidate who can get his message out the most often will have the greatest chance of resonating with voters. Here at BWFO, we are certain that the voters need only here in detail about the message of hope that Senator Obama brings to America to be swayed!
If you are in the Atlanta area and you wish to attend, please contact us at 770-232-9201, or email us at RSVP@blackwomenforobama.org. The event wil be an excellent networking opportunity as well, so bring your business cards! Yours truly will be in attendance, and everyone who’s anyone in the ATL!
By Patricia Wilson-Smith
I had an interesting conversation with a friend today.
We were discussing Senator Obama’s ’hype-factor’; how he seems to have the market cornered on pure [blank] appeal - you can literally plug sex, mass, whip, broad, cross-over, or almost any other kind of appeal into the blank and accurately describe the man.
My friend mentioned that he hoped that Senator Obama could turn the ‘hype’ into votes. I agreed, of course, but it immediately occured to me that his statement revealed a series of interesting dilemmas, especially for BWFO.
Dilemma #1 - if you’re a single black woman, and you’ve started or joined an organization called “Black Women for Obama”, you are clearly in danger of getting the ”Humph – you just like him ’cause he cute” remarks from friends, family, and the occassional total stranger. I’m certain that there is a partial truth in that, I mean, heck, I’m not blind, and as far as I know, neither are any of the current members of BWFO. I see what the man looks like - for the love of pete, look at him!
(Pause to glance at GQ cover)
He is very attractive, there’s no doubt about it, so to those people I say – “Duh!”
Yes – it’s hard for even a serious (clear throat) writer like myself to deny that Senator Obama is a cutie, but the fact is, even a slightly over-sexed, work-a-holic, love-starved, Internet junkie like me can keep my admiration for the Senator at bay, if for no other reason than out of respect for Mrs. Obama…
That was a cry for help if I’ve ever heard one. Let’s move on.
…and because not doing so is darned inappropriate if one expects to be taken seriously.
Dilemma #2 – it’s no secret that Senator Obama has a special appeal for the masses. References to the Senator have shown up in rap lyrics, on t-shirts, in music videos, and on college campuses all around the country. People from all walks of life have been mesmerized by his easy-going manner, and ability to connect with a crowd, and most recently he has been described in debate performances as ‘genuine’, and ‘more likable’ than the rest of the Democratic field . He oozes likability. The stories of his rock-star receptions at the events he attends are legendary by now. It’s an inconvenient truth- the man has star power.
Dilemma #3 – who couldn’t help but tear up a bit when they see blacks and whites standing side by side, joyously waving “Obama ‘08″ banners as if their lives depended on it. I’m old enough to remember when a black politician of any kind was a complete novelty, and when the very notion of a black President of the United States was so far fetched that most people never even discussed the possibility. We are far from completely united in terms of race relations in this country, of course, but the images of Senator Obama being surrounded by people of all kinds, or being happily received by folks in towns both big and small, urban and rural, white and black, give me all of the cause in the world to hope, and inspires more than it’s share of hype.
So then what of the ‘hype’ factor? If it’s hard for me to contain the obvious crush I have on the Senator, is it possible that my friend is right, and that all of the hoopla, all of the media attention, all of the fervor that Senator Obama’s campaign has generated is just hype?
Nah – here’s my take. I also think John Edwards is a cutie. He is – I can admit that. When he does that thing with his hands when he’s really trying to make a point – yuuuuum-y. And Rudy Guiliani certainly does have his share of Internet groupies, though I’m guessing a couple of them are probably already in line to be his next ex-wife. And the Hill-ster most definitely does have a broad base of appeal, if not across party lines, certainly across racial ones. She has Billy-boy to thank for that.
Then what is it? Why does the Senator invoke such a reaction in so many, and how can that reaction be translated into votes?
I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you why, and I’ll tell you how. Senator Obama helps people like GQ sell magazines not just because he’s gorgeous (and he is) – but because his message excites people. The idea of a different kind of government doing things a different way just excites people. His intelligence, his insightfulness, his wisdom, his sense of family, his diverse background, his humble beginnings, and yes, his mega-watt smile - all combine to create a personna that seems to symbolize everything that America is about.
So how then do we translate all of that into votes? Well, if you’re Patricia Wilson-Smith (and I just happen to be), you target the demographic that you are most familiar with, in my case black women, and you vow to do everything in your power to help that demographic see beyond the GQ magazine spreads, the 30 second sound bites, and the rap video shout outs to get to why Senator Obama, who is intelligent, insightful, wise, and all the rest, is uniquely qualified to lead this nation at a time when:
- the Bush Administration is using every Jedhi-mind trick in the book to sell us on the ’successes’ in the Iraq War
- the rest of the world thinks we’ve lost our monkey-a%$# minds
- Our schools are falling into disrepair, and turning out fewer and fewer accomplished students
- Our healthcare system is failing way more of our citizens than it should be and
- the Black family, the stability and viability of our communities, and the very idea of opportunity for the masses is under attack
(Bullet pointed for emphasis, and to prove I’m good at formatting stuff)
In elections, there is no such a thing as over-exposure; getting the image and name of your candidate burned into the very psyches of the American voter is Job 1. So it should come as no surprise to any of us that the Senator would grace the cover of magazines, hang out with Jon Stewart (who wouldn’t want to – another yum cake) or crop up as a new icon of the Hip Hop generation. But it’s clearly not enough that everyone recognizes him – they have to get off their kiesters on election day and go and cast a vote for him. That’s where we at BWFO and Senator Obama’s other supporters come in.
Those of us who have committed to working on the Senator’s behalf are all busy organizing GOTV events, voter registration drives, house parties, and fund raisers, all designed to disseminate as much real and substantive information about the candidate as possible. We’ll let the news media and the national campaign choose his photo-ops; we’re working to make sure that everyone we can reach gets to know the Senator’s ideas.
And the national campaign is working hard to make sure that ordinary Americans like me all over the country are playing an active role in getting the message out – his is one of the first campaigns ever to make the every-day voter a crucial part of spreading the word, and the only one I’ve ever known to actively work at building a grass-roots machine that is meant to remain in place long after he’s taken up residence in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
And so there is a place in all of this for the ‘hype’ machine, right along side the ‘truth’ machine. We’ll use the truth machine to see to it that the realities of the issues plaguing the nation are put in front of American after American, until the day comes when it will be obvious to everyone, even those who know how cute I really think Senator Obama is, that it’s about so much more than that for me, and his legion of supporters. It’s about electing our greatest chance at a unified, transformed-for-the-better America. Period.
A final parting shot – if it was really only about cute, heck – Al Sharpton and that fly little comb back? Va-voom!
If you’ve read any of the past “Commas for Obama” posts, you know that the goal here is to seek out opportunities for dialog for the political edification and reading pleasure of BWFO readers.
And so today, in a new installment of “Commas for Obama: We Pause for Thought”, we present a response to a previous blog entry entitled “Democracy to Aristocracy: Not in My America”. Written by your truly, of course.
If you’re a regular reader, you recall that this article points out the back to back “Bush-Clinton-Bush” presidencies, and discusses the possibility of (cringe) another Clinton in the White House in the context of a new-age aristocracy.
Well – the response to the post was incredible! I received death threats, anonymous, ominous calls to my home in the middle of the night, my tires were slashed, my house was painted with grafitti – okay not really. I did receive several really heated responses to my asssertion that Americans have collectively rolled over and allowed two families to occupy the highest office in the land for nearly a quarter of a century, though. My favorite is the subject of this edition of CFO, and comes from a woman who identifies herself only as GeorgiaCEOToday.
My responses to this reader’s remarks are shown below in bold. To read the original post click here.
————– Original message from GeorgiaCEOToday: ————–
Dear Black Women for Obama:
Patricia, I disagree with you!
There were 65 pages of legal notices from foreclosures last weekend in the AJC. Today, we are on the verge of a recession as jobs are outsourced to India, Russia, China or other places that don’t respect the same human rights, employment, or product quality standards as we do. The dollar is weak. Greenspan suggests that capital be moved out of industrial jobs (GM) and into cutting edge technology which is a hard hit for America’s autoworkers. Instead of feeling sorry for children in Cambodia, you may one day watch as Korea takes pity on our ability to feed American children.
With that, I begin my vehement and angry criticism of your blog Not in My America.
While the Hillary supporters, and certainly the Bush supporters sure can be vicious at times, your candidate, Barack Obama seemed a breath of fresh air in Washington’s politics as usual.
Why then should Barack Obama supporters like you, stoop to the level of demonstrating the same meanness and triviality that Karl Rove is famous for? If that is what you are doing, I can’t be a part of it.
[PAS] Your illustration of the issues that plague our nation is eloquent and thorough, and completely on the mark. Meanness and triviality, though? Comparing me to Karl Rove? That says to me that you completely missed the point of my blog entry.
Was it Rove who came up with the idea that Dukakis was single handedly responsible for releasing hundreds of Black rapists and murderers into the streets of Massachusett’s? Of course it was terrible, but also genius in its ability to play to the fears of millions of white voters by equating Dukakis with Black prisoners.
So now, Patricia, is it you who will play to the fears of black women by equating Hillary with Marie Antoinette, when you state that she is playing “dress up” with the leader of the Republican Party….the same party that attempted to impeach her husband?
[PAS] Rapists and murderers? That’s a pretty dramatic thing to pull out of your hat. The reference to Hillary and George playing dressup is directly related to the point of the article, and nothing more. To assert that I meant it in any other way is quite frankly ludicrous, and to compare me (again) to Karl Rove as if I am some stealth political operative says to me that you’re perspective on things has been clouded by too many years spent in the political fray. It is not my intent in anything that I write to do anything but state my opinion, and in my opinion, the current state that we find ourselves in as a nation is in part due to the way this country has been led over the last several decades, and that includes the Clinton years. I have in no way implied that Hillary is “cozying” up to the Republican Party – you drew that conclusion on your own.
And even if Hillary Clinton and President Bush are playing dress up or footsie together behind closed doors…is that a strong and sensible reason to vote for Obama? What in the world does that have to do with health care, or the WAR for Goodness Sakes??? People are dying!
Even worse, you ask whether our nation is in jeopardy of being hijacked by a political aristocracy!!!!!! Rule by the aristocracy didn’t begin with George H. W. Bush.
Forget that Washington and Jefferson were Vice-President and President 20 years, have you NOT noticed in your entire life, or any history books that there have almost always been wealthy or educated families leading our nation (Roosevelts, Adams, Kennedy’s)? Have you not noticed that if they were not wealthy as children, they almost always were legally or militarily trained before becoming President, to better interpret and enforce our nation’s laws(Lincoln, Clinton, Eisenhower, Jackson)?
Read the Federalist Papers! Rule by a talented and able few has always been the plan. There was much debate from the founders of the nation as to how to create a nation that was not a kingdom.
Anyway, the word “Aristocracy” comes from Aristotle (see Poetics, Politics). In other words, the aristocracy wasn’t invented by George W. Bush but it is a very old idea that those who are best educated and most wise govern the common populace.
[PAS] The problem is not that we are being ruled by wealthy and educated families, the problem is that we have been ruled for almost the last thirty years by the same TWO wealthy and educated families! Do your homework! The foothold these two families has had on the office of the Presidency is UNHEARD OF in HISTORY! The only thing that even comes close is the father-son presidencies of John Adams and John Quincy Adams (24 years apart), and the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt (fifth cousins) which were also separated by 25 years!
Also – let’s face it – in terms of their political agendas, there is not a whole lot of difference between any of the Democractic field – so in the end, it comes down to who has the best vision for the country, and who has the best record of displaying good judgment in the face of things like 9/11 and the Iraq War. Hillary loses on both points – Senator Obama wins. It also comes down to who can best work to make the changes that you yourself have pointed out are so desperately needed – again, Senator Obama has a proven record of being able to reach across the aisle to work with legislators and get things done. Hillary’s most infamous attempt at a national initiative (Healthcare Reform) failed in defeat because of she and Bill Clinton’s inability to compromise. This is a matter of record. Look it up.
Also – at no time WHATSOEVER did I say that the aristocracy was created by George W. Bush. Your comments are beginning to border on hysterics – we would have a much more meaningful dialogue about this if you could resist the urge to mis-interpret my statements and put words in my mouth!
Still, despite your wonderful imagination,any friendship between Hillary & Bush has nothing to do with Barack Obama and really is insulting to all the hard work he has put forth to present Democratic ideas that might help our country through this challenging time. This aristocracy…this democracy, this Republic, you besmirch …………not a dictatorship, not the communist party, not an oligarchy…. allows a talented few, even if poor …. rise up through hard work, education and talent to leadership.
King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette who you patterned George Bush and Hillary after were not examples of aristocracy……………………………… but rather a MONARCHY.
While the dictionary provides various connotations of the word Aristocracy, please look at one of the definitions you provided.
| 4. | a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state. |
Despite that he is not from the Bush or Clinton family, Mr. Obama, an attorney of humble beginnings, certainly seems to have grown up to become one of the best and most able. So is Mr. Edwards, who wasn’t rich, but did gain legal training to govern our society with just laws. So is Bill Richardson, another legally trained Democrat who hardly grew up wealthy.
Listen to their ideas!!!!!
Listen to their ideas!!!!!
[PAS] Again – more hysterics. Spreading the word about Senator Obama’s ideas are what Black Woman For Obama is and has always been about from the beginning. Your rash judgment of this one blog entry shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’ve not read anything else I’ve written, which is not a crime, but should be taken into consideration if you’re going to cast aspersions on my writing and opinions. And the imagination thing? That’s the picture I chose for the article driving you crazy I guess, because I never ONCE mentioned that Hillary and George Bush were friends, or playing “footsie” as you put it. The picture is merely a caricaturization meant to illustrate the point of the article, which is the danger of our political process being taken over by a new age aristocracy. Again, If you’d seen or read any of my past blogs, you’d likely be a little less distressed over this one.
See why it is that they have risen to leadership from their humble beginnings. Learn what your candidate wants to do. Autoworkers are striking. Soldiers are dying. Cancer victims have no health care. Children are starving in this country. Veterans have to wait to get medical treatment. Katrina victims are still displaced.
Please do not insult all of these issues or me with trivialities!
Tell us something and inspire us why Barack Obama will fix the issues at hand. This election is too important for a Democrat to talk nonsense. Yes, the last one was important but this may be the last opportunity to steer the train away from the cliff.
[PAS] Again – it has practically become my life’s work of late to tell people what Senator Obama can and will do to fix the many issues at hand. I’ve walked the streets of South Carolina in the blinding heat, going from house to house speaking directly with Hillary supporters, Obama supporters, and people who don’t know WHO they support to understand their very personal concerns and to talk to them about how Senator Obama will address them. Have you canvassed for Hillary? Made any calls? Even licked a stamp? I HAVE to know everything about Senator Obama’s message, because I’m committed like you wouldn’t BELIEVE to seeing him get elected. If you’re insulted by this blog entry, I encourage you to read some of the others – like “Ipods & Sneakers: The Miseducation of Oprah Winfrey”. Or, “Jesse Jackson’s Jaw Jappin’”, or “In Defense of Bill O’Reilly”. I will always, ALWAYS tell it like I see it, even if my opinion isn’t popular – if you don’t agree, that is your perogative. If you’re insulted, that’s your problem.
There is nothing trivial about my take on the issues, and certainly nothing trivial about the idea that we’ve become a society of voters that are too lazy to drill down into the issues to understand them, or the candidates. You’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe that there are lots and lots of people out there who will cast a vote for Hillary Clinton simply because of her association with her husband – it is THOSE people that BWFO seek out and want to educate. Quite frankly, you are not our target demographic – you’re not an Obama supporter, and that’s your right, but I’ve made it my business to find those people who don’t know that there is a better alternative out there and educate them. I encourage you to use whatever forum you have at your disposal to do the same, because after all, this is America, and you can do that. In the meantime, please keep reading my blog entries and voicing your opinion. Without this kind of dialog, it’s very difficult to get to the truth of a matter, and if YOU jumped to ridiculously erroneous conclusions after reading “Democracy to Aristocracy”, others may have as well.
Thanks for helping me set the record straight, and I’m sure I can look forward to your response 
Sincerely,
Patricia Wilson-Smith
Vickie Juanetta White: Rest in Peace
October 28, 2007 in Barack Obama, Commentary, Healthcare Reform, Issues, Michelle Obama, Nailah Franklin, Politics, Videos, YouTube | Tags: Barack Obama, Black Women, Black Women for Obama, Healthcare Reform, Medicaid, Medicare, Rare Diseases, Scleroderma | by bfwo | 3 comments
By Patricia Wilson-Smith
This week, I lost a sister and a friend.
On Tuesday, my sister-in-law, Vickie White, died of an extremely rare disease called “Scleroderma”. Vickie was 43 years young. She was a mother of five children (three step-children, and two by birth) and my brother’s wife. The video below, which I call “If Love Were a Kiss”, is my tribute to her life and spirit:
Vickie was loud, and vibrant, and talkative; she was strong, and truly one of the most loving, giving people I’ve ever met. She was not perfect – early in her and my brother’s relationship, we argued a lot, mainly because she was very insecure about a lot of things. But despite our ups and downs, I quickly grew to know her as the generous, loving woman that she really was.
She was an amazing mother. She could always be counted on to take in a gang of kids for the weekend, mine included, just because. She and I planned dinners together, and cooked together, and bragged about our kitchen skills together for years. And we laughed – we laughed about current events, celebrities, family members, and ourselves. She was a comfortable fixture in my life that I just can’t imagine being without.
I realize now that it’s very easy to take someone like Vickie for granted; she was combative and confrontational at times, and a gossip. She was sometimes unhappy with her life, and often blamed the people in it. She made it very easy to want to avoid her occassionally, especially if like me, you were busy or just didn’t feel like hearing about her latest drama. Yes – it was very easy to take her for granted, even though I know that had it not been for her, I would have missed out on some of the greatest laughs of my life, and most definitely some of the greatest meals of my life. Vickie made potato salad that made you want to take a bath in it, put it on bread, in soups, spread it on crackers. And for all of the 16 years that she was a part of my life, I was definitely guilty of taking her special brand of love for granted, because I thought it would always be there. Losing her is devastating – for me and my entire family.
She talked me through troubles in my marriage, through my subsequent divorce, and through almost every relationship-gone-bad I’ve had since. When I decided to get my Master’s degree and needed every waking moment on the weekends to study because I was working full-time, she frequently picked up my son, entertained him, took him on outings with my niece, and never once asked for a thing. I loved Vickie very much.
Most people have never heard of the disease that took my sister-in-law. Scleroderma is an extremely rare, chronic disease characterized by excessive deposits of collagen in the skin or other organs. The localized type of the disease, while disabling, tends not to be fatal. The generalized form of the disease, however, can be fatal as a result of heart, kidney, lung or intestinal damage. According to online sources, women are more likely to contract the disease, and there is evidence that black women are at a significantly greater risk than all other women of developing it. In addition, the fatal form of Scleroderma appears to occur more frequently among black women and starts at an earlier age.
Vickie was diagnosed in late Summer last year. I remember the phone call like it was yesterday, because it stopped me cold in my tracks. Amazingly, another very good friend of mine had died from Scleroderma several years earlier, and because I also worked with this person back then, my co-workers and I were forced to watch as her health failed, helpless to do anything to ease the debilitating affects of the disease. It was no different with my sister-in-law.
It was heart-breaking to see how she suffered, because I owe so much to Vickie. A few years back, when I had major surgery, she was one of the few people who came to the hospital to make sure I was alright. She was there one night in particular after the surgery, when for some unknown reason I had a sudden and stark drop in blood pressure. I remember her standing over me as I threatened to slip out of consciousness; I remember her running from the room to summon a nurse, and standing over me, rubbing my hair as the medical staff worked to stabilize me again. Once I was home, she and she alone made her way to my house on more than one occassion during the six weeks that I was out of commission and cleaned it from top to bottom. She did it because she loved me – and it needed to be done. No other reason.
Most recently, and remarkably after getting her devastating diagnosis, my mother became very ill and was hospitalized for several days. I was unable to visit my mother during the day, and Vickie (who by then was on disability because of her illness) went to her hospital room every day in my place, argued with doctors to make sure she got the best care, and dutifully reported back to me and other members of my family. My mother, who was often irritated over all the fussing, took to calling her “Nurse Betty”. But the truth is, that’s exactly what she was – a nurse by nature, personally and professionally. Vickie loved and took care of everybody – and so I was so proud of her after I convinced her to get into a medical assistant’s program and she did.
There are so many lessons for me in losing Vickie. Losing her reminded me yet again to love the people around me, and to tell them so while holding them in a tight bear hug, because you never know when they’ll be suddenly taken from you. Vickie was at my house just three days before she died. She didn’t look well, but I don’t think any of the family that was gathered there that day knew that it would be the last time we would see her alive. I can distinctly remember walking out of the kitchen, and seeing her from behind, sitting on my love seat, chatting happily with other members of my family. And I can remember sneaking up behind her, and planting a kiss on her cheek and telling her, “I can’t believe you got out of the house today! I’m SO happy to see you!”
And in a cruel twist of fate that I’m almost too embarassed to recount, I can remember being in the restroom when she asked my brother and sister-in-law to pray with her then and there. I could hear the prayer from where I was, and when it was over, I said “Amen” through my closed door, hoping that she would hear me and know that I wanted in on the prayer for her strength and recovery. I knew she was about to leave, but before I could finish what I was doing, her daughter Alisha and my brother Gary had already helped her out of the house and into her car. I missed out on the hug, the kiss, and the “I love you” that I undoubtedly would have received otherwise. And I never spoke to her or saw her alive again.
There is also a lesson to be learned by those who take care of everyone but themselves (like me). As black women, we often become the caretakers of everything and everyone around us, and forget about doing the things necessary to keep ourselves going, like fitting in the annual mammograms, getting the regular health screenings, eating right, and exercising. I am the biggest culprit here – I’m caring for an aging mother, a young son, and heading up an entire department at work. Finding time to see to it that I’m okay has become almost impossible, but I’ve resolved to make the changes necessary to ensure that I’m here as long as I can be, for the people I love, and for myself.
But perhaps one of the greatest lessons I learned from all this came from remarks made during Vickie’s memorial service by my niece Brandy, who is also one of Vickie’s step-daughters. Brandy’s message was essentially that it’s only when we lose loved-ones, that all of the disagreements, the misunderstandings, and the stupid fights seem so petty. Relationships in life are what they are – up and down, good and bad. I for one, personally think we only help ourselves if we can learn to see the petty squabbles for what they are as well, and learn to put them in their proper perspective. I know I’d take a healthy, smiling Vickie telling me off with her finger wagging in my face about something I said or did in a heartbeat, if it meant I could have her back.
A greater spotlight needs to be cast on health issues that affect black women most, and more people need to know about this horrible disease. Sadly, our healthcare system, like our political system is predisposed to de-value black women. I wish I could believe that Vickie received the absolute best medical care possible, but studies have shown that as an African-American female in this country, she may not have. I believe fully that the kind of reform that Senator Obama has laid out in his healthcare plan will ensure that all Americans have a chance at better treatment of deadly diseases like Scleroderma. There are foundations and efforts to increase awareness of Scleroderma, but most people are simply not aware of them.
What I now know is that though there is no known cause for Scleroderma, and no cure, early detection can mean the difference in an improved quality of life made possible by treating the symptoms of the disease, and a very quick descent into the crippling later stages of the disease. My friend Madonna, who died of the disease almost ten years ago, was consistently mis-diagnosed until there was almost nothing that could be done to prolong her life and ease her suffering. In a nation as great as this one, with a healthcare system unmatched in the world, there is simply no excuse for this.
My heart is breaking, because I lost someone that at times drove me nuts, but that I loved dearly, someone that I wish I had told that a little more often. So, if you haven’t yet, look at the video. If you have, look at it again, and think about that person in your life that drives you crazy but that you love and can’t imagine life without. Then call them up and tell them so.
Rest in peace, sweet friend. I’ll miss you.
Vickie Juanetta White
July 11, 1964 – October 23, 2007
For more information about Scleroderma:
Scleroderma Foundation – Home Page
Nonprofit organization dedicated to helping persons with scleroderma, enhancing public awareness, and funding research.
Scleroderma
Scleroderma information provided by the Arthritis Foundation
Scleroderma – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A variety of information regarding the disease, including a number of additional references.
SCLERODERMA FAQ
The Scleroderma FAQ is a comprehensive document about Scleroderma.