Guest Post: What I Learned While on Life Support (LaRae Parry)

 

Today’s guest blogger is LaRae Parry, aka the Crazy Lady. Formerly an artist, LaRae found herself on life support due to medical errors. In the course of learning to read again, she gave birth to a successful writing career. LaRae joins us today to share a heart-warming, rib-tickling excerpt from her eye-opening book, Life Support Dang Near Killed Me. – byh

 

In 2005, I was on life support after a routine gall bladder surgery went terribly wrong. Part of the medical debacle was sort of my fault. The other 90 percent was the surgeon’s.

 

I had been warned by that protective intuition that we all have within us not to have the surgery. I was sick with a sinus infection—too sick for surgery. I can’t say that I wasn’t warned . . . but, and here’s the hard part—I trusted the surgeon over my premonition.

 

We all do that at some point, don’t we? Trust other people rather than our instinct? We shouldn’t do that, you know. We’re all equipped with that gut cautionary instinct—why don’t we trust it more often?

 

But . . . I digress.

 

There are some things I learned while being on life support that I’d like to share:

 

• Your underwear doesn’t matter. The people in the ICU will rip it off and leave you naked as a jaybird. Then they slap on a flimsy gown that doesn’t have a back and a bunch of necessary holes in the front. So, dismiss your mother’s counsel to always wear clean underwear.

 

• Being able to breathe is very important, because if you stop, someone will straddle you and pound on your chest.

 

• While on life support, my ears worked really well. I eavesdropped on just about everyone.

 

• 80 percent of what goes through a feeding tube is laxatives. No kidding. It’s rude.

 

• Sponge baths were just as awful with my eyes tightly closed as when they were open.

 

• There are many excellent people in the medical field. Doctors and nurses provide life-saving services that cannot be repaid.

 

• Angels are real and all around us, especially when we are sick, lonely or sad.

 

• Listen to my gut feelings—they’re always right. Even when I don’t heed the warnings, great lessons still come from it.

 

• I believe my life was spared so I could share the message that we need to listen to our inner voice for comfort and protection, and not worry about what our so-called specialists might think.

 

• The world is filled with goodness. It really is!

 

• Mostly I learned that prayers DO NOT need to be spoken in order to be Heartfelt prayers are answered in the ways they should be. I asked to be completely healed, so I wouldn’t have to wear supplemental oxygen for the rest of my life. Even though the answer was, “Not now,” I learned to accept that answer.

 

Author Bio

 

LaRae Parry is a published artist with 12 books in print. She considers herself to be a “very famous art has-been.” She now would like to be considered a “very famous author who nobody knows about.”

 

In 2005, she suffered a major medical ordeal, which landed her on life support, because of multiple organ failure. After years of therapy and hard work, her mind began creating again. She was able to comprehend some words, but struggled with reading.

 

It was through her struggle to learn to read that her writing career sprouted. Even though she’ll always struggle with reading, writing brings her great joy and is what inspires her to get out of bed in the morning—when it would be so much easier to stay.

Image credit LaRae Parry

Read Reviews & Buy “Life Support Dang Near Killed Me”

 

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Guest Post: About the Shaping of an ‘Angry’ Black Woman (Tamara Woods)

Image credit Tamara Woods

 

Today’s guest blogger is Tamara Woods, poet, proud hillbilly in Hawaii and so much more. She generously hosted me on her blog, PenPaperPad, some time ago and I’m excited to share her with you today. Please remember to show her some follow love and be sure to check out her newly released, first book of poetry, The Shaping of an Angry Black Woman. Aloha, T! – byh

***

Thank you so much Belinda for allowing me to chat with your readers. I’m so excited to share my work with a new audience.

Hello my name is Tamara, and I’m your resident poet for the moment. Please bring your own beverage, have a seat and let me talk to you a little about what being a poet means to me and a little bit about my new collection of poetry, “The Shaping of an ‘Angry’ Black Woman.”

In my head being vulnerable ranks right up there with death, speaking in front of groups of people and finding one of those huge tropic cockroaches in my bed. To share your inner thoughts with the world for possible judging judgertons to well…judge…horrifying.

Sure, I have a vlog and now two blogs, but I’m an incredibly private person. I don’t talk a lot about my past- my personal history, except through poetry. Actually, I don’t really talk a lot about my life period. I’m slow to open up. I keep people at a distance until I feel comfortable to let them in…a little.

I find with my poems, I can’t help it. That’s how you learn who I am the most. My emotions and thoughts just won’t keep to themselves. I suppose everyone needs an outlet, and poetry is mine.

Sometimes there’s thoughts that linger with you for years. Words that you scribble within the full flush of heated emotion, editing in the calm of the next day. Sometimes, you observe life’s patterns and as you chat with people, you realize you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who sees things this way. And maybe other people see it too. So, you scribble it down, too.

This collection is a bit of that and more. I write first as a person, then as a woman and then as a black woman. That’s how I see myself. I’ve noticed with others, my race seems to supersede all other aspects of myself. I needed this conversation to be larger than that. I discuss love, jealousy, domestic violence, writer’s block as well as race issues. I wanted to write about things that were both personal and observational. My experience and any woman’s combined, which is what lead to the cover of the book.

Let me tell you a little about how I came to the name, “The Shaping of an “Angry” Black Woman.”

I wanted a chance to talk about myself and give an idea of who I am as a person and as a writer. To allow people a bit more access to me and to share. Even though it’s scary, sometimes it’s necessary. I’m going to share one of my poems with you.

Here’s one of my favorite poems from the book. I decided a few years ago to stop putting relaxers in my hair. I had been putting home kits in my hair since I was 12, and my hair was starting to show the wear and tear. It was breaking off, didn’t have a luster or shine to it. To put it bluntly, it looked like shit. I decided I needed a change, and stopped with all the processing. I noticed people’s reactions to it, and then I started noticing how other black women treat each other about hair, and how society judges hair choices period. And so this poem was born.

Rhonda Lee, the meteorologist I referred to, fired for cutting off her hair, was just hired recently. She was fired in 2012. That is an incredibly interesting story in itself.

I find myself going back to spoken word often, which that poem was an example. There’s an inherent freedom in having no real form, but still trying to make it sound lyrical. Putting things in perspective using voice and body, as well as word choice and rhythm. Many of the poems in The Shaping of an Angry Black Woman are spoken word poets, and others are just poems.

Do any of you write poetry or like to read/watch poetry? Who are your favorite poets? Maybe there’s someone who’s new to me on your list. Thank you again for having me, Belinda, and it’s nice to meet you all.

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Image credit Tamara Woods

Bio

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia, where she began writing poetry at the age of 12. Her first poetry collection is available at Sakura Publishing and at Amazon.  She has previous experience as a newspaper journalist, an event organizer, volunteer with AmeriCorps and VISTA, in addition to work with people with disabilities. She has used her writing background to capture emotions and moments in time for anthologies such as Empirical Magazine, her blog, PenPaperPad, and writing articles as a full-time freelance writer for places like LeftyPop. She is a hillbilly hermit in Honolulu living with her Mathmagician.