Swimming with Pigs

Bahamas

May 30, 2025

to

June 7, 2025

Swimming with Pigs in the Bahamas was a dream father-daughter trip for Egypt for many years and we finally made it happen in 2025. I decided to use most of my airline and hotel points to give Egypt a special trip since she had been asking for this for many years and I realize that one of these trips will be our last trip as she starts her adult life in the near future. I'll still hope for many more.

Heart-Shaped Stone

This is the mysterious story of Kellisa’s 25^th surgery which took place in February 2025 at Suter Roseville Medical Center. The surgery lasted three hours when the surgeon told us it should only take 60 minutes.

October 2024 – Kellisa had her first riding horse therapy session in more than 10 years and loved getting back in the saddle. Unfortunately, she started complaining of pain in her hips shortly after the ride. We took her to the doctor when the pain didn’t go away after a few days, and pain relievers weren’t helping. Tests were run and a few x-rays were taken. Nothing was obvious as far as her pain in the hip area, but in the corner of one of the x-rays, the radiologist saw something they couldn’t explain. A dark area of the stomach led them to believe a foreign object was “trapped” and would require further investigation.

Can't Wait

 

Nature Swagger by Rue Mapp

Links: Rue Mapp (Outdoor Afros Founder)

             Nature Swagger

Egypt Days

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Father-Daughter Trip to the Outer Banks (OBX)

North & South Carolina

Summer 2024

For the first time, Egypt selected our destination by herself. She wanted to visit the Outer Banks (OBX) of North & South Carolina after following the adventures of the Kooks and Pogues from one of her favorite TV shows, the Outer Banks. While our trip was cut short due to weather, Tropical Storm Debby, we still managed to check off her main boxes- beach photo shoots and seeing some of the filming locations. 

Stairs and the Wheelchair

 November 6, 2018

Oakmont High School

Roseville, CA

Kellisa was a student at Oakmont High School when Lisa got a call from her teacher, "Kellisa is fine, but she wheeled down a few stairs."

Kellisa was outside in the courtyard on her way to lunch when she took the opportunity when no one was looking and wheeled off from her class. Before anyone could stop her, she wheeled down 3 or 4 cement stairs. Fortunately, she went sideways and landed in the grass on her side in the wheelchair. Thankfully, she had her seatbelt on.

She was a little startled, but enjoyed the ride and found it funny. As did her classmates. The responsible teachers and aides on the other hand, weren't too thrilled. They checked her out and she appeared OK, but they wheeled her to the nurse to be sure.

Kellisa was fine and when the teacher called, she also asked, "Why would Kellisa think it was OK to wheel down the stairs?"

Kellisa Starts a New All-Inclusive Dance Class

Spotlight Studios

Roseville, CA

October 13, 2025

After taking many years of dance classes with yearly recitals in Florida, we were disappointed we couldn't find an adaptive dance studio for Kellisa in Roseville, CA. We mostly gave up when out of nowhere, Egypt's longtime singing coach expanded his business to include a dance studio and fortunate for Kellisa, he included an adaptive class where Kellisa was the first student to sign up. Kellisa wasted no time getting into the flow of dancing and loved every second with her more than awesome dance instructor. Kellisa's huge smile and endless kisses of thanks and appreciation brought tears to our eyes. We are so thankful to have this activity in place for Kellisa.

We highly recommend Spotlight Studios for music, dance, theater, and education. 

 

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A Wheelchair Guide to Potter Park Zoo

 Lansing, MI

July 30, 2025

We were in Michigan for 11 days so Egypt could attend a nursing camp at the University of Michigan. We wanted to explore outside while Egypt was learning, but we found it to be uncomfortably hot and humid. We did get outside for a couple of hours while visiting the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, MI. 

It was nice for a smaller zoo and we found it mostly accessible. A few gravel paths might be difficult or impossible for some, but we managed. Kellisa's highlights include: fun under water misters with mom, the wildlife overlook bridge, the river otters, and not surprisingly, the reptile house. Not a bad way to spend some time.