“Mostly I’m serving the Lord right now. I had a stroke five years ago, so I don’t work. So I just really live each day, going around, ministering to people, or giving, seeing how I can bless their day. I’m a born-again Christian. I go to Son Light right there. It’s a theater. I go there – non-denominational. I’ve been a Christian most of my life, but now, I’m actually involved. I’m actually living for God. Well, what does that mean? God is in the forefront of everything. I’m working and living His will out, not mine. What He wants for my life is what matters. I’ll just go around and let the Holy Spirit lead me. I might meet someone who is down in the dumps, so to say, and I’ll just listen to them. And I’ll listen to what God would tell me to say to them or what they need to hear. Encourage them, support them, uplift them. I care about people.
I was a hairstylist and aesthetician, and I did a lot of management work. When I came to California at 30, I always wanted to do hair. So I went to school and got my license. Before my stroke, I used to love to dance, and bicycle, swim. Now, I love to read, and do anything like you’re doing – I want to improve myself. So I did a lot of self-help. Now, I still read, and I pray a lot. I have a lot of friends – fellowship – we’re all Christians.
[The stroke was] Five and a half years ago. My whole world has changed. Because everything I really did love at the time has been taken away. You know, dancing, swimming, bicycling – I can’t do any of that now. I went to bed one night. I didn’t even know I had it. I woke up the next morning, and my leg was dragging. And I called the paramedics. I said, ‘Take me to the hospital!’ When I got there, the doctor said, ‘Well, we can’t give you the shot. We don’t know how long it’s been.’ So they took me into surgery and checked me for blood clots. He came out and told my daughter, ‘She doesn’t have any blood clots. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. But she had a stroke in the back of her head.’ I woke up – I was paralyzed. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t drink. I had to learn how to talk again. Walk. I can stand, I can walk, but not a long way. My arm never came back. And my left vocal chord got affected – that’s why I sound like this.
I was a diabetic, and I didn’t know it. They couldn’t believe I had it. They checked me – I’m 61 – and said, ‘All your organs are the age of a 30 year old!’ ‘Cause yeah, I did eat well. I didn’t drink or do drugs, but I did smoke. Now, the smoking didn’t cause the stroke. But I was a diabetic, which caused my blood sugar to go up at night, which caused my blood pressure to go up. So I’m just now, I’m praising God every day, thanking him for being alive. What do I pray for? I pray for wisdom, discernment, to have the courage to go on. Love and understanding.
Well, I think the hardest part – well, that’s funny, ’cause it’s not hard at all. It’s like living for God now is like breathing. Like I said, I was born again, but I never really lived for God. About 15 years ago is when it really changed. I got divorced, and that’s when I really realized that I had been ruining my life and made a mess. And that God never wanted that for me. And it wasn’t His fault. It was mine. I chose it. And I told Him, ‘Okay, I’m going to start seeking You.’ And that’s why I was shocked when I had the stroke, ‘Wait a minute. I’m living for You. What’s going on?’ But I have grown really deeply since I had the stroke.
I have a daughter and four grandkids. I would say that inspires me. I always saw my daughter as my greatest teacher. Her personality is more [sic] softer, and through watching her, it’s made me a little softer, you know. I was more strong. I grew up in a different childhood. So I was a little rough around the edges. So I learned a lot about being a mother. I was watching her, and the generation she grew up in was totally different from mine. I learned that I can have men friends, just be friends. ‘Cause in my time, it wasn’t like that. If a woman was a friend with a man, she was a loose. They didn’t believe you could just be friends, you know.
I grew up in a large family. I’m the oldest of 8 children. My daughter is an only child. My father was an alcoholic, so it was a real – it was a violent childhood. I didn’t get to be a child. I was an adult at a very early age. I had to take care of my siblings and be an adult. I went to therapy, and I worked that through. And I forgave my mom and my dad. They did what they knew how. But it was a hard time.”
Excerpt may be edited for clarity.