maddie – Emily Maxwell McLemore

November Spotlight: Women Run Businesses

Published on November 1, 2020November 1, 2020 by EmilyMaxwellMcLemoreLeave a comment

I decided that for the month of November, I am going to spotlight some of the women in my life that run businesses or have “side gigs” that have made an impact on my life. Why? Because yesterday (10/31) as I was getting ready for the day I realized that most of the items that I use on a daily basis come from women run businesses and I want to support them!

The following November posts will NOT be paid ads. I’m not going to give them a shout out if I don’t use or have the product. I’m not even seeking the women out ahead of time and telling them that I’m doing this. However, if any of these awesome ladies have discount codes they want to share, I’ll post them.

So here we go. I think this will be fun!

The first shout out goes to my daughter Maddie and Young Living. When Maddie went to college, she took with her all of her health issues and struggles. Yes, duh. Of course she did. But instead of allowing chronic illness and a body that is at war everyday to define her experience; she thrived. Truly, against all odds, she was healthier away at college, living in a dorm that she had ever been. And I attribute a lot of it to her finding Young Living that first fall and signing up as a monthly member. In doing so, she made a commitment to her health and opened our world to the “Ditch and Switch” mindset. That first year we became “oily” and friend of a friend, Angela and her Essentially Sage Advice mentored our journey as I quickly became a member and fell in love with the all natural products.

My Top Pick: Thieves

If you haven’t ever tried Thieves, you are missing out. There is a lot of research about its cleansing abilities and you can look into that if interested. Some of the Thieves products I use are: the hand sanitizer, the hand soap, the fruit and veggie wash, the detergents, the cough drops, and the oil.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the mix of Clove, Orange and Thieves. Well, really, I love Thieves mixed with any citrus, but these 3 are my go to smell around the house for fall.

Bottom line.. Thieves makes everything better.

Young Living Diffuser with Clove, Thieves and Orange Oils

And there you have it. I never imaged that my house would be filled with oils and oily products. But we are all in over here. If you have any questions, let me know. I can get you in touch with Maddie or Angela. I have not regretted a single purchase and am committed to my Essential Rewards Membership as my family has benefitted from it beyond my wildest dreams.

Check back in a couple of days for my next November Spotlight.

Pessimistically Hopeful

Published on May 24, 2019 by EmilyMaxwellMcLemoreLeave a comment

Pessimistically Hopeful.

That’s what I’m feeling today. About a lot of things, but maybe that is really the way I’m describing my life right now.

I’m pessimistically hopeful because there are potentially some good and great things on the horizon, but when you add the real dose of life experience to that hope, I’m pessimistically hopeful at best.

To start, I’m using these pictures of this spiny cactus to remind myself that sometimes life emerges from the unexpected and thought dead. You see, we bought this spiny cactus last summer at a farmer’s market and it lived in its plastic container for almost a year sitting on the edge of the flowerbed, not planted..it was forgotten although I walked by it at least once a day and regularly thought we should plant it.. but I didn’t. Through the winter and into the spring it looked dead. I figured the couple of hard freezes had gotten during the winter must have killed it.

Finally, a few weeks ago, Doug planted it in our front bed. It was listless and couldn’t remain upright without a support. Doug put the old decorative fence piece next to it and let it lean on it. A few of the sections fell off immediately and it looked sad. Dead.

But it wasn’t.

The rain, the sun and nutrients from the ground has brought it to life. The once sad looking plant is beautiful and healthy and bringing forth amazing flowers.

And so, I’m reminding myself that sometimes life does actually deliver on the potential and possibilities. I know that sounds incredibly jaded and sad. But dang, the last decade has had some really tough lessons and lingering issues were the answers were never given and the dreams and goals never reached.

But today, I’m enjoying the beauty of the flowers and praying for that same gift for Maddie’s feet.

Yesterday we met with a new doctor, Maddie’s 31st specialist. We were never actually suppossed to see him. It was an incredibly strange set of events that got us to this Neurologist over five hours away. He was kind, and interested. He was caring and deliberate. And more than anything, he listened, he looked and he took his time. In fact, the appointment was at 10am and he spent an hour talking with us and then asked if we could come back at 2pm for testing. We did and after another almost hour of working with Maddie he gave us hope.

Maddie has been wearing AFO braces on both feet for almost a year after spending much of the previous year wearing walking boots on one or both feet when one day her feet just stopped working.

She has had every test imaginable and all come back normal. There has been no explainable reason for her feet not working. But Dr. Martin yesterday said, there is ALWAYS a reason, we just have to find it.

And he might have.

So Maddie will start physical therapy and has a plan and a goal.

More than that, we left hopeful and not defeated. Over the last dozen years, we have left defeated, disheartened and discouraged time after time from specialists. We either left with no hope or were treated dismissively as Maddie is a “complicated case.”

But yesterday, we were treated with care and dignity.

And so, I’m pessimistically hopeful.

I pray with my entire being that just like the cactus that has flowers blooming despite everything, Maddie will return to college in the fall being able to regular shoes some of the time and will eventually be free from the AFO braces. I pray that her body will grow strong. I pray that she will continue to bloom, just like she always has, despite the struggles that are put in her path.

Momma wasn’t ready to go from Walking Boots to AFO braces

Published on June 28, 2018 by EmilyMaxwellMcLemore2 Comments

If you have been around here much, you know that my sweet daughter Maddie has faced 18 years of health struggles, mysterious symptoms and daily pain. Her strength and grace in the midst of chronic health problems simply amaze me.

The past year has been no different. In fact, if anything, she has been more resilient and more determined that her limitations would not hold back her dreams.

She graduated a month ago from high school, 23rd out of 216 in her class. She crossed the stage wearing walking boots on both feet because of a spontaneous bilateral foot drop.

Since that time she has been to three different specialists, has had nerve testing and has had body scans completed.. and there is no medical reason for her feet to not work. The only explanation is that this must be a side effect of her auto-immune disease. And because there is no nerve damage and no “reason” for this manifestation, there is no prognosis or timeline for recovery. Her first episode with a foot drop was back in November and it just affected one foot. This episode took out the other foot and set back the first foot that had been recovering. The only link.. she was in a flare of her kidney disease.

So here we are in Texas and it was 105 degrees today. Neither of her feet work to be able to walk without support and they aren’t getting better. The walking boots are bearable if you don’t have to wear them all the time, and if you know its just for a few weeks… but not if there is no end in sight.

Today we went to the Hanger Clinic and Maddie was fitted for AFO braces. This was real. And IT. HURT. It hurt because we had to acknowledge that we don’t know when/if she will get better. Every night I tell her that maybe she will wake up tomorrow and her feet will work. But we have to make realistic decisions and choices.

Maddie chose the Noodle AFO brace as we were able to take it home today. She can get custom ones later if we see that she will need them. These braces are carbon fiber and will allow her to have more mobility.

She walked around in them and then we paid our portion of the bill.. Dang. These things are expensive…

The specialist that helped us was fantastic and she went to college at Texas Women’s were Maddie will start in the fall, so that was nice as she had first hand knowledge about the terrain that Maddie will walk.

From there we went to Fort Worth Running Company for shoes. I hated to go there as Maddie can’t run and has never been able to run. But I get my shoes fitted there and I knew that they would treat her with respect and courtesy. And she was! Oh my! The salesman worked with Maddie and did a phenomenal job. When he finished I commented that he hadn’t expected something like this when he got to work today and his reply was that in his previous job he helped fit orthopedic footwear! What an incredible gift to us today. He had no idea the level of stress and heartache we were feeling.. instead he focused on Maddie and making sure that she felt stable and comfortable.

As we left the store, I couldn’t help but notice her steps and her legs. I’m so thankful that she has these horrible braces. But I am so very mad that she has these horrible braces. I ache for her.

Maddie’s entire life has been about keeping her well and away from germs. I’m used to questions about her kidney disease, her immune system, her chronic pain. But I wasn’t prepared for mobility issues. None of us were, but I guess we should have been given that she has been in physical therapy on and off since she was 8.

There you have it. This beautiful young woman is strong and is going to do incredible things one day. She is a bright and shining example of all that is good in this generation. Despite all the crap that life throws at her, she smiles, survives and loves others.

If nothing else, I am praying that the AFO braces in all of there “realness” will give the sense that Maddie’s struggles are real and long-term. Lots of people wear walking boots for a short period of time.. but no one wants AFO braces. For someone that has lived with an invisible illness for 18 years, this is like turning a spotlight on her life.

And for all of you out there, I have one request.. PLEASE STOP asking her about her feet. Please help me cut off the random stranger in the parking lot that practically runs us down to ask what happened to her feet. Please help me stop workers (and even hospital workers!) from asking how she broke both feet. Please help me stop uncaring and uninformed people from asking callous questions and making hurtful comments. This experience has shown us that adults are significantly ruder than children and that the self-importance of people knows no bounds.

We leave for Disney World in just under a week. She will use a scooter as she has in the past…

I’m so glad she has the braces for the trip.

I’m so sad that she has the braces for the trip.

My heart was not ready to go from walking boots to AFO braces.

What I learned from watching my daughter in Colorguard

Published on April 13, 2018April 13, 2018 by EmilyMaxwellMcLemore1 Comment

About five years ago if you asked me what colorguard was I would have asked if you meant the “flag girls” on the football field at half time with the marching band. I would have meant no disrespect, but I didn’t have a real frame of reference for colorguard beyond that they were the pretty part of the half time band performance.

Today however, if you ask me about Colorguard, I can talk about it for a looong time! Cause you see, I am a veteran “Guard Mom” whose daughter was Captain this year, is graduating from high school next month and last week performed her in final Winterguard competition. Oh.. you don’t know what Winterguard is? Well, Winterguard season is December through April and the guards perform a show entirely different from the fall and perform it inside a gym. It is quite a competition!

So here are some of the things I learned over the last four years..

Colorguard is a SPORT.

Guard rehearsals are like practices for sports. Full sweat, smelly feet, sore muscles and long hours.

(Color/Winter) Guard is a synonym for FAMILY.

Over the last four years we have come to know the guard director, staff and students very well. These teenagers and their families have become our family. The director has been a mentor and another mom for Maddie. Being part of the guard family is an honor.

Guard teaches the importance of the
individual WITHIN the team.

One of the coolest parts of the color/winter guard team is that each individual and their work is incredibly important to the combined efforts of the team. Hand positions, foot work, throwing (and catching) hard tosses, and the ability to keep up and on the beat are deal breakers for the overall look and ranking of the guard. Because of this, the team learns how to work together and use the unique skills and abilities of each member while working to get better and stronger each week.

Guard teaches young women that beauty and strength are two parts of the same whole!

One of the greatest gifts that guard gives to teenage girls is the understanding that beauty and strength are two parts of the same whole. Being a member of the guard means that you have grace and dignity as well as strength and fire. These lessons learned during teen years are life changing and help girls mature and become strong and beautiful women.

I am so thankful that Maddie was a “guardie” and that I had the privilege of being a “Guard Mom!”

(Thanks to Amanda Akins and Derek Dodson for the incredible pictures!)

Winterguard, bruised knees and a powerful performance

Published on March 23, 2017March 28, 2017 by EmilyMaxwellMcLemore3 Comments

I love watching Maddie perform. So much of our life is defined by the limitations that are put on her, that when she is able to participate in LIFE with her peers, we celebrate!

One of Maddie’s passions is colorguard/ winterguard. Participating in an event that is so hard on her body is costly to her. The exhaustion, sore muscles and constant bruising is a high price to pay, but worth it because she loves the sport.

Maddie is on Stephenville High School’s winterguard team and they have their championship competition on Saturday. On Tuesday, they were able to perform for the student body. They performed beautifully and it is always wonderful for their peers to see the amazing things that they are able to do!

Enjoy.