My Real Life Jacks, A Boy Named Brayden

Morning, Angels!!! If you’ve been keeping up at all with Spectacle, you know Jackson, Jacks for short, is one of Mirabella’s lifelong friends who’s living with Muscular Dystrophy. And if you aren’t familiar with the disease, here’s a little excerpt from the Mayo Clinic’s website:

 

Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In muscular dystrophy, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle.

 

Recently I’ve had the pleasure of coming in contact with a family who’s oldest boy is living with a form of MD called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and it was placed on my heart to help them. After much thought as to how I could do that, I’ve decided to donate all the pre-order proceeds for Spectacle to the family to assist with any medical costs. See below to learn a little more about Brayden (my real life Jacks) and this brave young man’s journey with this disease, as well as links to pre-order Spectacle to help donate to this cause.
 

Love to all

Xoxo

Meet Brayden:

Brayden is a smart and witty twelve-year-old boy, who loves video games and sports of all kinds, especially football, but the only thing holding him back is that he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He was diagnosed on April 1st, 2010 with the disease, which will one day (possibly sooner than later) put him in wheelchair fulltime. His mind is sharp as a tack, but his little body is giving out daily; the more tired he gets, the more frequent the falls. Luckily he hasn’t broken any bones (yet). He will one day need a tracheotomy to be able to breathe and speak, and his lungs and heart are muscles that will give out just as easy as his arms and legs. Most boys with this disease will not live into their 20’s, and the disease claims lives daily. To help Brayden in his journey with DMD, I’ve decided to donate all my pre-order proceeds to Brayden’s family.

Pre-order Links:

(On sale for .99 during pre-order)

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | APPLE | KOBO



Author Spotlight - Justice K. Chambers

Morning, angels!!! Today is a very special day because I'm introducing the work of a debut author and my dear friend, Justice K. Chambers. Sometime in the early spring (specific date to come) her book of poetry titled Shattered Living will grace eBook sites across the intewebs and will feature a variety of poems about her experience living with anxiety and depression. As someone who is personally afflicted with chronic anxiety, I relate to her work on many levels, and my hope is that, whether you live with one of these diseases or not, you take something away from this poem after reading it... even if it's only a better understanding of what it's like.

Love to all xoxo


The Closet, by Justice K. Chambers

Chewed me up and swallowed me to the pit of darkness,

The unknown abyss.

It greeted me with an unwanted kiss.

Seemed to suck me from where once all was normal,

To chaos and feeling uncontrollable.

Take back your kiss!

Take back your rage!

Give back my life, so I’m not writing this page!

Is it the devil who has done this to me?

If so, the battle is on, you see.

My mind obsesses with explanations unknown;

Every day the search is on.

Could this be an attack of the devil?

A chemical imbalance? Trauma?

Answers still not shown.

Will I ever reach them?

I need them now!

Yesterday gone,

Tomorrow too far,

My brain already scarred.

How much will you take?

I am ready to break.

Made of glass, I have just shattered,

Emotions jumbled and scattered.

I am on my knees.

I have hit the floor,

Beating my head on the closet door.

Hiding in the darkness,

Tucked away behind clothes.

In the corner, so no one knows,

The thoughts that overtake,

The venom inside me boiling like the bite of a snake.

“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” to my mind I scream.

I hate this affliction,

Doomed forever, it seems.

Tick, tick, tick,

The time so slow,

Begging for the night to pop some pills so this will leave,

Just go.

If just for those few hours of sleep -

For it is my only peace,

I think I will just lie here on the floor.

Please, no one open the door.

What an Inspiration!

I usually don't post about things like this, but what I saw last night moved me to tears!

As I settled down to watch TV before bed, my remote stopped on the American Idol auditions toward the end of the show. Their last contestant was a man named Lazaro Arbos who's originally from Cuba. My first impression of him was "wow... handsome" and he had such a sweet spirit about him.

When he began introducing himself, you could tell he struggled with a speech impediment (it brought to mind when I watched the King's Speech, but a lot worse) and it broke your heart to watch him standing there in front of the judges and millions of viewers, vulnerable and humble. I found myself rooting for him, wanting so badly for him to blow them away with his singing... and boy did he ever!

See the video below to see what I mean! It just further proves how therapeutic and cleansing music is for the soul. Amazing.