My Buddy Rochelle and the Warriors of RoBoobia!
I went to the bank today and every employee was wearing pink. Even the guys who looked like they were horrified to be in pink, wore that color with pride! I actually love a man in pink.
Anyway, I digress. The point I am obviously NOT getting to is that they are wearing that color because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. And I'll tell you, I am all too aware of this issue.
A few years back I was on tour with Patrice Pike; just the two of us, no band, no trailer full of gear, just our acoustic guitars, an ipod, a schedule and my big red Suburban. We played shows all the way up through the Midwest. We played Minneapolis, then headed to Chicago. My best friend since junior high lives in Chi-town and was waiting patiently for our arrival at the Speakeasy Supper Club where we were due to play. Pike was on the phone with a good friend of hers, Rochelle, who was coming in from St. Louis to the show in Chicago. I told Kelly to look for the woman who looks like Uma Therman. Rochelle is easy to spot!
They enjoyed some cocktails and conversation, hitting it off immediately while waiting for the Big Red Gas Guzzler to pull in.
We had a great time! We all spent the night after the show at Kelly's house and had what-felt-like a teenage slumber party.
The following day, with very little sleep, Rochelle, Patrice, and I headed out to St. Louis where Ro was co-hosting a house concert for us. All went beautifully, and an instant connection was developed between me and Rochelle.
Patrice and I had a couple of days off so we spent those days with Ro in her apartment, exchanging stories of her days as a missionary in Bulgaria and my days as a touring musician in Italy and elsewhere. She spoke to me in Bulgarian, I spoke to her in Italian. With a woman like Rochelle, who has incredible intuition and instincts, language is not even necessary.
Rochelle speaks all languages with her hands. She is by far the most healing massage therapist I have known. My first Rochelle-massage-experience was on one of those nights in St. Louis atop her massage table in her apartment just before Patrice, Ro, and I sat atop said table, strumming and harmonizing Ray LaMontagne songs. It may have even been that night that I looked at those Uma-Ro eyes and said "You belong in Austin, Texas."
It seemed like only months later, Rochelle was packed up and leaving old St. Louis behind and quickly establishing herself as one of Austin's top massage therapists. Not only did she establish herself quickly, she is also a massage therapist to a lot of local superstars! She knows how to work those guitar-aching muscles back into shape! Her client-base wasn't the only thing that became loyal. Her friendships grew quickly and deeply. Rochelle is loved by many!
And many of those friends were there for her when she chose to run her first marathon a few months back. It was such an exciting moment when she came around the bend, full of life, so determined, so graceful, so proud of herself, as we were!
A few weeks ago, I was following Rochelle's visits to the doctor. She had done a self-examination and found something peculiar. The doctor did a biopsy and it turned out that she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Rochelle is in her early 30's and is more fit than ever before! They caught it at an early stage, so that's a good thing. Rochelle is one of the strongest people I have ever known and she will win this battle. Not only will she win it, she will then go on to empower more women than she ever has before. That's Rochelle. She's an inspiration, a healer, a giver of life.
As I listened to her on the phone tell me, only a few hours after she had received the diagnosis, that she wasn't afraid, that she was strong and healthy, that she would educate more women, I thought to myself "Would I be that strong?" I don't know and I would prefer not have to find out. She was so full of courage and life during that phone call to me. Only toward the end did she cry. But she cried out of gratitude, not sadness. She told me "I'm standing on Congress looking at the Capitol building. If you had not encouraged me to move to Austin and I had been somewhere else with this diagnosis, I would feel so lost. But here, I know I have the best support group. I have family. I am surrounded by love."
That's my girl, Rochelle!
If you would like to be a part of Rochelle Poulson's journey, please befriend her on Facebook. Please follow her blog www.navigatorgaia.blogspot.com. Please schedule a massage! http://www.rochellepoulson.com.
Or below there are two ways to help out financially. You can make a donation and/or you can purchase the wristband "Warriors for RoBoobia"! It takes a village to fight this kind of thing. Our village is called RoBoobia! Please join us.
Donate
email
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362689
web
Buy
email
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362550
web
Anyway, I digress. The point I am obviously NOT getting to is that they are wearing that color because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. And I'll tell you, I am all too aware of this issue.
A few years back I was on tour with Patrice Pike; just the two of us, no band, no trailer full of gear, just our acoustic guitars, an ipod, a schedule and my big red Suburban. We played shows all the way up through the Midwest. We played Minneapolis, then headed to Chicago. My best friend since junior high lives in Chi-town and was waiting patiently for our arrival at the Speakeasy Supper Club where we were due to play. Pike was on the phone with a good friend of hers, Rochelle, who was coming in from St. Louis to the show in Chicago. I told Kelly to look for the woman who looks like Uma Therman. Rochelle is easy to spot!
They enjoyed some cocktails and conversation, hitting it off immediately while waiting for the Big Red Gas Guzzler to pull in.
We had a great time! We all spent the night after the show at Kelly's house and had what-felt-like a teenage slumber party.
The following day, with very little sleep, Rochelle, Patrice, and I headed out to St. Louis where Ro was co-hosting a house concert for us. All went beautifully, and an instant connection was developed between me and Rochelle.
Patrice and I had a couple of days off so we spent those days with Ro in her apartment, exchanging stories of her days as a missionary in Bulgaria and my days as a touring musician in Italy and elsewhere. She spoke to me in Bulgarian, I spoke to her in Italian. With a woman like Rochelle, who has incredible intuition and instincts, language is not even necessary.
Rochelle speaks all languages with her hands. She is by far the most healing massage therapist I have known. My first Rochelle-massage-experience was on one of those nights in St. Louis atop her massage table in her apartment just before Patrice, Ro, and I sat atop said table, strumming and harmonizing Ray LaMontagne songs. It may have even been that night that I looked at those Uma-Ro eyes and said "You belong in Austin, Texas."
It seemed like only months later, Rochelle was packed up and leaving old St. Louis behind and quickly establishing herself as one of Austin's top massage therapists. Not only did she establish herself quickly, she is also a massage therapist to a lot of local superstars! She knows how to work those guitar-aching muscles back into shape! Her client-base wasn't the only thing that became loyal. Her friendships grew quickly and deeply. Rochelle is loved by many!
And many of those friends were there for her when she chose to run her first marathon a few months back. It was such an exciting moment when she came around the bend, full of life, so determined, so graceful, so proud of herself, as we were! A few weeks ago, I was following Rochelle's visits to the doctor. She had done a self-examination and found something peculiar. The doctor did a biopsy and it turned out that she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Rochelle is in her early 30's and is more fit than ever before! They caught it at an early stage, so that's a good thing. Rochelle is one of the strongest people I have ever known and she will win this battle. Not only will she win it, she will then go on to empower more women than she ever has before. That's Rochelle. She's an inspiration, a healer, a giver of life.
As I listened to her on the phone tell me, only a few hours after she had received the diagnosis, that she wasn't afraid, that she was strong and healthy, that she would educate more women, I thought to myself "Would I be that strong?" I don't know and I would prefer not have to find out. She was so full of courage and life during that phone call to me. Only toward the end did she cry. But she cried out of gratitude, not sadness. She told me "I'm standing on Congress looking at the Capitol building. If you had not encouraged me to move to Austin and I had been somewhere else with this diagnosis, I would feel so lost. But here, I know I have the best support group. I have family. I am surrounded by love."
That's my girl, Rochelle!
If you would like to be a part of Rochelle Poulson's journey, please befriend her on Facebook. Please follow her blog www.navigatorgaia.blogspot.com. Please schedule a massage! http://www.rochellepoulson.com.
Or below there are two ways to help out financially. You can make a donation and/or you can purchase the wristband "Warriors for RoBoobia"! It takes a village to fight this kind of thing. Our village is called RoBoobia! Please join us.
Donate
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362689
web
Buy
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362550
web
Labels: breast cancer, ginger leigh, patrice pike, rochelle poulson
posted by Ginger Leigh & Jane Reece at
2:21 PM
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