To my Plaid for Women family, I pray your Holidays were joyful and bright. Filled with family and friends, good food and presents but most of all I hope you were filled with a spirit of giving, either with your heart, wallet or time. What we give of ourselves can be the biggest gift we give to ourselves; for the greatest gift of all is love. May we all be rich in the coming year with the love we give and the love we receive.

In the spirit of giving and receiving I must share what has been going on in mine and Dawn’s life since January 2013.

Dawn competed in the Chisholm Challenge with Wings of Hope on the opening day of Stock show and Rodeo in January 2013. She was thrown from her horse, Chief, moments before she was due to ride into the ring to compete for the prize buckle. I heard her scream and as I arrived at the coral she was being attended to by paramedics who found no visible sign of injury aside from her pride. Chief nudged me to ask forgiveness for deciding to lay down on the job which I gave with a kiss on his nose.

Dawn walked away, but a few days later she was in pain, badly bruised, swollen and experiencing dizziness. I took her to the doctor, who ruled out a concussion but recommended we treat her bruises and swelling with Advil and ice/heat packs for at least a week then prescribed Meclizine for the dizziness. Months went by before one day, while at lunch at Dawn’s favorite place, Old Neighborhood Grill, Dawn refused to sit at her usual table. She said it made her dizzy to sit on the bar stool. Then, it made her dizzy when I brought the car to a stop. Moving didn’t bother her stopping did.

As time went on, and subsequent doctor visits she added more and more dizzy situations, like having to sleep at the foot of her bed, not taking a shower in her shower because it is a step in tub type, not playing baseball, bowling and her true love – horseback riding.

By September she could no longer attend school because the flow of students in the hallway made her dizzy, the stairs made her dizzy and the chair in her classroom made her dizzy. I have watched as my smiling and happy child become nearly bed ridden with the attitude of a badger.

We have been to several ENT’s (Ear Nose and Throat) specialists who did the chamber test with a laser light, a chair and electrodes that were placed on her head and hands. She’s had every vertigo test, hearing test and x-ray possible. We’ve tried Meclizine and several other things like when I took her to Cook’s Children’s Hospital-ER in Fort Worth and the doctor gave a sedative to calm her.

Finally, we’ve made it to dear Doctor Anthony’s, he’s an ENT specializing in dizziness. We’ve tried physical therapy in hopes that the brain would simply begin to compensate due to a possible tear somewhere in the tiny space that is the inner ear, the problem with the inner ear is that it is so small and hard to get to. So, he’s ordered a CT-Scan of the ear and will, on the 30th of December, puncture her ear drum with an electrode so he can measure the fluid of the inner ear to determine if there is a leak.

With all I’ve ever done for my child all the times I’ve fought for her, defended her, went to bat for her I have never felt so helpless. I watch her struggle with every step as her palms sweat, her breath becomes labored until she draws her hands into fists and cries, “I want it to stop!” All I can do is hold her steady and pray. I am asking for your prayers in hopes we are able to finally find the source and that it is repairable.

I miss my baby girl and we both want so much to get back to making our dreams come true. She is suppose to graduate in May and I want her to be able to walk across the stage and accept the diploma she’s worked so hard to earn.

I want to thank each of you for your valued support in reading my articles and for participating in all the ways you do and for your prayers, well wishes, likes and shares. You are a part of mine and Dawn’s village and I am proud to be a part of Plaid for Women.