On Becky's List of Things She HAD To Do in NYC...Go to The Today Show

Becky had a blast in New York City! 

She got to actually live her dream!

Becky and her new friends got up very early in the morning to prepare for the big show.  Even though she took a couple of light jackets & a sweater with her, Becky had to bundle up with blankets & other people's coats while she was at The Today Show.  She's used to the warmth of the desert and the dryness of the desert air.  New York City's humidity makes that cold go deep into her body!  
 When they first arrived at Rockefeller Center, there were only a few people there...so they were able to get a good spot in order to see the hosts and anchors of The Today Show.  As more people showed up for the show, they came over to Becky and her friends to greet them.  Becky also makes lots of friends everywhere she goes.  All of the travelers with Hammer Travel had made signs the night before.  Becky's sign said "I Heart U Mom".   

Al Roker came out first and did a weather report. After the report, he came over and talked with Becky and her friends, shaking their hands. Later, more of the hosts and anchors came out and took the time to greet Becky including Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.  When asked who was cuter, Becky said, "Al Roker, he was neat".  Who was the funniest one?  "Matt Lauer".  Who was the nicest one? "Ann Curry".

After the show was over, Becky and some of the other Hammer Travel friends went to the Top of the Rock.  Becky had chosen that as one of the places she wanted to be sure to see.  She was simply blown away with how high she was. In her hometown of Las Cruces, NM the tallest building is 4 stories tall....she could not believe she was 70 stories in the air. Since there is a thick plexiglass wall around the edge of the building, Becky could see all the buildings in Manhattan and down to the street. "It was crazy".  

Update: Becky's Exploring All Over Manhattan

Becky has been having such an amazing time in NYC! She went to Central Park yesterday and buzzed all around...really enjoying her freedom and independence!  Then she went to the Guggenheim Museum.

After she went to the Today Show this morning, she went to The Top of the Rock!

Tonight Becky and her travel group went to see Wicked and were trying to get autographs after the play was over....I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

Tuesday & The Today Show

Becky and her new friends from her travel group and Hammer Travel are visiting The Today Show this morning.  They had to get to Rockefeller Center by 6:30 EST so I'm sure she was awake several hours earlier in order to get ready in time.  Knowing Becky, she was likely squealing as her Hammer Travel staff got her dressed and prepared for the day.
I got up to start watching The Today Show at 7am and was thrilled to see a glimpse of her as the camera panned across the crowd early in the first hour.  She was holding a sign and wearing a pink hat; but what made her easy to spot was her smile! I even heard her trademark squeal!  
Here's a pic of her sign.

Pizza in NYC with FDNY on the side

Becky's brother, James Wilkinson, lives in NYC.  He and his girlfriend, Rachel invited Becky and the entire travel group from Hammer Travel to John's Pizzaria on Times Square.  www.johnspizzerianyc.com   Jim showed Becky how to eat pizza New York-style: folded and it ended up being the easiest and best way she's ever eaten pizza! Guess she's a natural-born New Yorker at heart?  Becky saw margaritas on the menu & yelled out, "I have my i.d.!" lol....she ended up drinking virgin.

Jim, Becky and the entire travel group were walking back to the hotel in the rain and noticed the local fire department had their doors open. They all went inside and were treated to having their pictures taken with the firemen and trucks.  Jim reported there was lots of flirting with firemen done by all the ladies of the group.

More to come tomorrow!  It's The Today Show early in the morning! Look for her behind Al Roker!

Becky Is Living Her Dream!!!!!

Becky flew to New York City yesterday...starting her adventure in independence in grand style! 
American Airlines staff were awesome and certainly went the extra mile as they upgraded her flight to first class.  She even got a window seat!


When Becky was a young girl, she had severe scoliosis of her spine. This caused her to sit slumped over to the side and limited her ability to view the world outside the car windows.  When she was 12, she had surgery to place rods in her spine. This was a very complex surgery and she had life-threatening complications during the procedure.  Afterwards, she had to lie flat on her back or on her tummy for six weeks.  Therapy that included stretching and weight bearing followed and was quite painful for her. But of course Becky never complained.
It was finally time to go for her first car ride during the follow up visit to the surgeon.  After going a few blocks down the road, I asked Becky if all the pain and struggle was worth it.  With her trademark huge smile, she squealed, "Yes! Now I can see out the windows!"


So, this week, Becky is looking through all kinds of windows, breaking through the "glass" and embracing the world she's longed to experience.
Thank you to all of you who have given so much of yourselves to help make this happen!


I will be updating the blog often....every time I hear from Becky as she is on her trip.  Pictures and longer stories of her experiences will follow after she gets back home on Friday.

Mondays With Becky

When I think about my social life, I think about going out for dinner once in a while, an occasional night listening to live music at a local bar, taking my grandkids to McDonald's for breakfast and meeting my friends for a cold drink.
Becky's social life is much more interesting than mine and it's certainly much busier than mine!
Becky and her friends see each other nearly day as they meet up around town. Most of Becky's friends participate in day hab (day habilitation).  Day hab provides a service that helps Becky and her friends live a richer life by being active in the community. They take her on outings at the parks, shopping, to museums, bowling and many other places. It also provides a comfortable, attractive place for them to meet for lunch, rest breaks and is a respite for cooling off...or warming up.
Becky is starting a reading group at her day hab center, Angelcare. She loves to read, especially her Twilight series of books. Becky chooses the title they will read together and then they take turns reading and discussing the story.
She enjoys attending a "girl's" group at Angelcare where they get their hair fixed, nails painted and experiment with makeup.  Becky likes feeling all prettied up, but what she really likes is the chisme, or gossip, that happens there!

Late this afternoon, Becky has an appointment with her ophthalmologist. Most people do not realize that glaucoma is a common and serious condition that goes along with cerebral palsy.  Becky has glaucoma in both eyes that is being reated with medicated eye drops and close monitoring.

So, that is a typical Monday with Becky...fun, friends and doctors!

UPDATE: Becky's eye appointment went well! No changes in her eye pressures!

Challenges of Being Limited By Your Body

I'm lying in bed with my laptop propped up on my knees...recovering from a very busy day of pushing my body's limits by having a garage sale.  I've been reflecting about how challenging it is to do fundraising projects when a person is limited physically.  It's given me a fresh perspective regarding my amazing daughter, Becky.


You see, I have Lupus; my body's immune system attacks itself and today it thinks it's winning. Lupus makes me have extreme fatigue...what i call "sick tired".  Like too tired to get up from a chair, but too tired to sit in a chair. It also gives me bad episodes of pain, especially when I do alot of activity....like walking, lifting boxes of junk at a garage sale.  
But it seems fairly wimpy for me to whine and complain too much.  I mean, if Becky never whines or complains...how can I?


Becky was born with cerebral palsy and arthrogryposis.  Arthrogryposis is a connective tissue disorder.  The simple way of explaining it: Becky's muscles were not attached to her bones in the right way and some muscles never even developed as a result.  When she was born, she had 2 dislocated hips which made it impossible to even put a diaper on her at first. Both her knees were unable to be bent and her kneecaps were behind her knees instead of in front. Both of her feet were clubbed with the bones of her feet being all jumbled up, going every which way. Several of her fingers had joints that were fused, unable to bend.  When she was born, she held her fingers in the sign language position of "I love you".  We took it as our first message that she was going to be a strong, loving girl with a determined spirit.  Well, she definitely proved we were right about that!


Becky has had surgeries on both hips, both knees, 2 surgeries on each foot, and surgery to put rods in her spine to correct severe scoliosis.  She wore casts on her legs for long months at a time and by the time she was 6 years old, she had been in casts for a total of half her life.  She endured being stretched after surgeries and would cry, but would then comfort me or the therapist stretching her afterwards.  Becky loved doing her exercises and had to be told to stop or she would exercise too hard & too long.  In one exercise, she would lie on the floor with a horizontal bar placed over her so that she could do "pull-ups".  She would work at it so hard, she had "white knuckles" from the exertion.  
She's always been a very stubborn and determined young lady.  When she had to use a manual wheelchair, she worked & worked at finding a way to make the chair go straight...because she could only use her right hand/arm to make it go. Naturally, it wanted to go in circles but Becky found that if she pushed it forward hard and then pulled it back a bit gently, she could go control which direction she went.  She's always wanted to go her own way, under her own power.


And she's never complained. Never whined. Always assumed that she could do pretty much anything she wanted to do...although she might have to do it in her own special way.  


So I'll take today to rest...I might take several days to rest. But I won't be whining or complaining. (much)  
I had to laugh last night. Becky called me and asked why I sounded sick.  I told her I was just very tired from the garage sale.  She was surprised!  She told me garage sales were easy to have and fun to work.  Compared to crawling the length of a house without using my legs...like Becky did...she's right.  Compared to being strapped in a standing frame and having to hold my body erect while also working out my arms...like Becky did...she's right.