Now Ms Nancy was born with a birth defect but that defect put her in a wheel chair. Ms Nancy had Muscular Dystrophy I'm not sure the type she had. MD comes in many forms. It can be debilitating and even fatal to many.
Ms Nancy is the reason my daughter Chasity had access to the foundation in the first place. Chasity Nichole was born with Muscular Dystrophy, Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, type two. Also know as spinal muscular atrophy type one, or acute spinal muscular atrophy.
My rare flower is what she was to me, the most beautiful bloom I have ever seen...
She would use her eyes as a way to express herself, yes meant twice up of her brows and no meant looking down real hard. She could not sit or stand. She could not roll over or get up or cry so I had a hard time hearing her. She was on a ventilator and mositure would build up and settle in the tubes and if enough water settled, air can't get thru the tube and the tubes would make a swishing sound and then if it wasn't emptied out the machine would beep. She had to be feed through her nose. I went to the hospital in Augusta to learn how to care for her and change her tracheostomy and suction it out and reinsert her feeding tube. She was in the hospital for many months and day in and day out. I didn't want to accept what the doctors told me and was always looking for hope up until she passed away.
I took her to a Dr. Hope in Macon, her condition was his speciality, he ran numerous test on her and told me before leaving the office, he gave me a grim diagnosis. Dr Hope was a white skin male, I will say he was forties or more, not much taller than me and he wore glasses and a blue suit. And he said she has muscular Dystrophy one of the more sever types. Your daughter want live to get a year and if she does live past a year it want be long before she dies. There is nothing I can do to help you there is no need to come back here. No, this was the second visit, back to him. Dr Noyd was the one who gave me the details and he sat in the office with me while I cried in disbelief. It was then I went back to Dr Hope and he told me not to bring her back. And so I asked him I said are you telling me just to push her in a corner and leave her and he said yes. And he walked away. And I called the MD association because they referred me to him and I told them how cold and uncaring he was and the woman on the phone said we will remove him from her list and move on to something else.
Dr Noyd said to me in his office, I think you should go see a genetics counselor so she can help you understand more of why this happened to you baby. Each time Chasity was sick, Dr Noyd made a house call with no problems at all from his office. When Chasity passed away, he and his whole staff was listed as visiting with her one last time before she was gone forever.
I remember the conversation with the woman on the phone saying to me you may be far away but you are not alone in this. I will send a truck to your front door to pick her up and bring her to this facility where she can see a doctor and get physical therapy, Ok. I said yes ma'am and the call eneded.
I'm in tears right now because of all the pain associated with her life and how she suffered and I miss her.
I went to the genetics counselor and she tried explaing broken chromosomes to me. They are all supposed to be closed, one may be broken and if two people with the same broken chromosomes have children they may have a birth defect like Chasity did. I blame me for it, because her birth is my fault. I was messing around with a married man and he was my cousin. Possible dad number one. I didn't know he was my cousin, but I was later told by my mom that he That is true for many things, liquor and drugs have been used for centuries, maybe it was what was used to start a fire, something to clean and sterilize and married. Plenty people knew he was my cousin, no one told me, not even my mom. Years ago when my snooping cousins told me who my real dad was, I didn't believe them, I believed what my mom told me, because they were messy as hell when it came to my business. They never told me anything important or helpful, one of my cousins once stopped her sister from telling me something, I was in the fourth grade, she said, don't tell her mama said let her learn everything the hard way. I remember that comment a lot of times in situations I have endured in my life time, the hard was, very little to no help. But they did tell everything that I was doing. My mom should have came clean with me when I asked her.
And then when she came to me about him being married she had the opportunity to tell me he was my cousin. She kept that part a secret and beat the hell out of me for fucking with a married man. I kept on seeing him, by now I was sexually active and my body was now accustomed to sex and I liked it. And living way out, he had a car and he drove out to my house most every weekend and drove past slow and picked me up and we left. Moving on, my aunt is throwing a house party and we all over the place and I'm inside and outside and back and forth to the store and in the back door to dance some more and then another trip to town and this time in the den door this time my mother and my soon to be uncle standing in the den having a conversation. And the man called me and I walked towards them. I was convicted in my spirit because I had just got dropped off by this man in the road, in front of my aunt's house, did they see me, I'm in trouble, my mama about to be me at the party. I had just come back from fucking. At that time I felt no shame, I was eighteen and kinda reckless with my cousins. We all have demons and skelton's hiding under the bed, in the closet, inn the inns and suites and jumping out of drawers when they are opened. I kept their secrets but they told all mine. Any rate, not my best moment in life, I regret it today, but I want ever have anything that will take it all away.
I do this for me and I dreamed about my rare flower🌹 Chasity. The dream was so vivid and felt so real. I actually woke up happy. It has been years since her last visit. I remember our first trip to Atlanta on a van specially designed for her chair. And there was a seat for me, he was a black guy, I made little to no eye contact with him, but he was very tall and I was depressed but didn't know there is a difference between sadness and depression, in fact I had never heard of depression until later on in life. The guy who was helping me with her was great an excellent at his job and made me feel comfortable. He talked the whole way, but I didn't really feel like talking back, but he kept on talking and finally we were there.
Anyways, back to the party. I walked towards them and this man I knew and had talked with him on many occasions and now I'm about to find out why he always asking me do you know who I am. He says he girl, how you doing, what you been up to and I said hey, nothing. And he said, your mama got something to tell you, and he looked to his right, mama was standing to his right and she laughed and took a sip of her beer. And he said tell her I'm her uncle, she need to know, these children out here having sex with their cousin and don't even know it. My mind took a dive, was it true the man I had just left from fucking on a got damn dirty dirt road was now my now cousin, no, the shame I felt. A new family I didn't even know I had. I was crushed, I was shame, I felt bad the rest of the night, but I want be shame the rest of my life. Many customs marry their first cousin, maybe the reason it was moved away from is because of birth defects and how the children were born.
The other possible father was the man I moved onto real quick after refusing to kiss my cousin when he asked and I told him we were cousins and he didn't care, he kept on and on driving by stopping me wherever he seen me at. But I was done with him and when I told him we were cousins he said I don't give a shit. I just wanted to be done with him and not see him anymore at all, not even in passing, I left town. And it is this window right here where she was conceived. I left the next weekend and went to my sister's house in Eatonton and met John, in have had a lot of John's, JG 1, JG 2, and JC3. But JG 1 is the one I moved onto really quickly to get away from the man who was married and my cousin.
I was at my sister's house and JG came over and we walked all over town and that evening we did the thang. He started coming to Monticello spending nights with me and then I find out I'm pregnant. I want JG to be her daddy but there is that doubt that still lingers in my spirit. I try to forgive myself because I still think my cousin was her dad the reason she was born sick.
Now I'm back to Devin Water, and this is another Devine day. And the story picks back up. I deal with my depression by keeping it real with myself. Now I go to the fiction part of the story.
Ms Nancy was a small white lady who was in a chair, she was very young, about my age. She had a job at the center. Bryan was the driver, he was working his way thru medical school, a forensic scientist, psychology and some more things he told me he was planning on learning while in school. He graduated high school early on and was a student at Emory University. His father paid for most of his education but insisted he get job to help with the cost of books and anything Bryan wanted to do extra he had to foot the bill.
Ms Nancy met us at the door, she was so kind to Chasity and rubbed her face and touched her hair and looked her in the eyes and said to her you are the most beautiful flower I have ever seen, and do you know how rare you are, we have to cherish each moment you are here. The staff took her and introduce her to everyone and she soon got tired from all the attention and began to give off that no frown she could make that was oh so cute. Ms Nancy asked her something and she did the no with her eyes and I said that means no. Chasity did not want to do anymore exercises I think maybe that is what it was. She did a few more exercises and they showed me how to do her range of motion and arm and hand stretches. The two hours went by fast, I was happy for a moment to be in the company of others who understand my pain. But time stands still for no one, not even those who want stare at you when you are different. To be in company of those with no complaints who have the most to complain about is a rare treasure. I have so much to be thankful for, but hurt glooms and I press on and I pray for a day with a real laugh and a genuine smile.
Time passed quickly and we had to say goodbye until next time. The drive back home was not as long as the one we made coming and I engaged in conversation more with Bryan on the way back. He was assuring to me they would take very good care of her and he made the comment, these people I work for don't play about this sickness. They would do more research but it's hard to get the money they need for the research. He then went on to say, most of the people there are volunteers and donations make the building possible. The state does little to no fundings, all the vans you seen are donations from others.
We made about three or four more trips, each time Bryan was our driver and then Chasity passed away late one evening. Ms Nancy called to express her heart felt sympathy and Bryan mailed a card with his number included expressing how sad he was and if I ever wanted to move to the city he would help me with my now four month old son. I decline his offer, he called back a few more times and then he stopped. I wanted to move away to the city but I was afraid of what might happen to me. My mother made sure I kept those fears alive in me.
It is a Tuesday cold morning and I'm still in bed, I can hear the children in the other room laughing. We now live in Atlanta. I'm in the house my uncle oversees. My rent is cheap for a house this size, my uncle Bill, whose real name is William is an attorney in Atlanta and oversees plenty of property so I had no clue the house belonged to my real dad Franklin Turner.
It's early morning, a little past six am and I'm in bed watching the news and playing a game on my tablet when I hear a name that sounds Familiar, it's Ms Nancy, she's on with the news caster so I turn up the volume and Jackson who said we were just here doing a story on you a few weeks back, we were here fighting to get the crosswalk signal closer to the sidewalk so you can push the button, he then did a recap of the story, and there she was in her chair, looking pretty much the same, she had aged a bit, but I could still tell it was her. She had a complaint with the city. She had called the city on numerous occasions trying to get them to mover the cross signal box closer to the sidewalk and how the action of news caster, action with Jackson got the button moved and she can now reach it. He showed her apartment complex and made a comment about how she has to wait here for long periods of time before she is able to cross, because she can't reach the button. Most days she has to wait until someone comes along and push the button for her.
Jackson now live again is at her hospital bed this time, Ms Nancy was followed home from the crosswalk and robbed and beat, I was floored. What could I do to help her, she is one of the kindest people I know. I was not sure what hospital she was in but i did know the last place she worked. I went to the MD center and true enough she still worked there. I began explaining who I was and how I know her and wanted to do anything I could to help her. One woman made a comment, if you wanna help, find the asses who would do such a horrible thing to another human being. She then shook her head said I apologise, it's not your fault, I was told by the DAs office, there are worse crimes going on right now, I said the DA told you that andnshe no some rude woman who works there who refused to give me her name, I told Nancy it was not to good idea to go on tv, I know that's how they knew her routine and I agreed. I said I understand, I feel the same way, do the police have any suspects, what about cameras, they are everywhere. The woman then says, they working as hard as they can is what we are being told.
I left the center and drove through Atlanta traffic to the downtown area where my Aunt Ida's office is. I had to circle the block three times until I figured out where to park so I want have to walk so far and pay so much money. I finally found a garage that was eight dollars for the day. I only need a few minutes, maybe they would charge me half, all I had was a twenty left after buying the flowers for Ms Nancy and it would be three more days before I got another pay check for cleaning. I parked and placed the ticket in my windshield and headed back towards the elevator, I was on the third dark and dimly lit deck. I walked fast looking around and then I saw more people walking and I felt a sense of ease. I made it to the elevator along with four more people and a woman wearing a long yellow sweater with tan boots that caught my eye reached the elevator in front of me and pushed. We waited they made small talk but my mind was on Ms Nancy. The doors opened and the woman did her hand for me to go on first and I stepped on the elevator and it moved and she laughed and said I hope it's safe for us, they did say only a ton. And they both laughed and I looked down. The woman in the yellow sweater pushed the button to the ground floor and then she made a comment, why can't I have my own parking space.
The elevator reached the ground and we got off and I walked towards the front of the building and so did the others. There was a man going into the building and I was sure he would hold the door seeing as how close we were, but he didn't, looked to me as if he pulled it. The woman in the yellow sweater said the nerve of him I should lift his probation to teach him some manners and the other woman laughed and the guy who was walking along with us shook his head. But all I could think was, I have heard her voice before but where. She was in front of me so I couldn't see her face, but her voice. The man who walked with us, held the door open and the lady stepped inside and said Roger, I know you saw it was me, why would you not hold the door for me. And Roger said, I don't have glasses anymore, remember you broke them, how was I supposed to know it was you, if you want me to see then get me some new glasses. She then said, don't make me have to lift your probation. And he threw up his hands and said that's cold ma and he stood there and held the elevator and we all got on and he stood there as the door closed and waved bye to her. And she laughed and said, I did break his glasses but he stole them from CVS, or one of those no name places. And I looked back at her, and damn it was Alexis, the witch of the west had found me in the south. I tried to look away as fast as I could to keep her from seeing me, but it wasn't fast enough. She said Kate is that you. I dropped my head and pinched myself and said damn bitch this is not a dream, what the hell, you followed me here and the doors of the elevator opened and I walked off and she laughed and said watch your steps, I'm the assistant to the DA, but that is soon going to change.
Alexis was wicked all the way throught, for years she had tormented me because of Kevin, my ex-husband. She cost me my job at the doctors office and tried to have my children removed from my home along with Kevin and my own cousin Opal, a whole nother story of a bad wind.
Alexis was the other woman while I was married to Kevin, she didn't know we were married. She and Opal were best friends and Kevin and Opal had been fucking since before we moved away from Devine Waters. I was in the dark about him and Opal. She was assumed to be his wife in their circle of friends and I was his outside chick who he had children with.
I didn't want her going after Aunt Ida because of me and my life choices so I turned around and got back on the elevator and made it a point to let Ida know what Alexis said. I had no clue Alexis was working with Ida, I never told her about Alexis and how badly she harassed me while I was in California.
I waited until I was home and then I called Ida and guess who took the call, Alexis. I changed my voice and gave her my given name. And she said Charity is that you, you don't sound like yourself, who is this. And I froze, like hold on, I'm Charity, what is she talking about. She then said, I happen to know Charity and this is not her, who every you are, I can have this call traced and I hung up the phone and called Mother to get Ida's cell phone number, it changed like the wind because of all the threatening calls Ida gets on a daily basis, she change her number frequently, she always calls Mother to give it to her. Her house number changes the same way. I called Mother and she was cooking supper as usual. She always cooks early and spends the rest of the day at the police office.
I told her everything that was going on and she gave me both of Ida's numbers. I heard a click and it sounded like someone else was on the phone and I said is Nanner home and Mother said no. I then asked where is pap and she said out back at the chicken house. I said I will call you when I get done speaking with Ida. I remembered Mother making a comment that her business was always getting out and she didn't know how. I heard when someone picked up the phone, but how. Was her lines bugged, why thought. Well others had been trying to take away Nanners land for years now, they lived separate from the United States government. Devine Waters had its own governing system where the elders were in charge but everyone had a voice. The whole county voted on everything that was going to change the town.
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