A heartwarming and harrowing tale of life and forbidden love lost to one generation and found in the next. Caught between a turbulent love triangle that shook the very foundations of the Mafia’s Las Vegas Empire, and a deadly struggle for wealth and power, Mob Boss and “King of Las Vegas” Tony Torino, his mistress and onetime showgirl Evelyn Rosenberg, and her husband top Chicago mobster Charlie “Gus” Rosenberg live and love in defiance of the violent and unforgiving laws of the Mafia. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CP Gal by Amanda Fino
Amanda was born with cerebral palsy
bit.ly/CPGalAmandaFino
How do you move forward when the past is holding you back? When the abuse from the past affects life choices in the present? Cerebral Palsy Gal is the riveting story of one woman’s quest to come to terms with her health, heartbreak and family. Amanda was born with cerebral palsy. Throughout her life, she struggled against seemingly overwhelming odds to follow her dream – to be a best-selling writer. As a child, she endured appalling physical, mental, and emotional abuse from members of her own family, especially her mother, who could not accept Amanda’s condition. When her father was only fifty-nine, he died of cancer. She found comfort and solace with her grandmother – her “gragwa” as she called her – the only person in her childhood who cared for her. A chance meeting with a former U.S. intelligence officer and his family at a convention in Las Vegas gave Amanda the chance to be part of a loving family she so dearly craved. Cerebral Palsy Gal is the remarkable story of survival against the odds, a poignant, inspiring, and utterly compelling account of one person finding her own voice and, in turn, becoming the voice of those who, through disability, cannot speak for themselves.
A note from Amanda Fino: Keep in mind while reading this, I did not write this fantastic blog, yet I’m highly honored to been asked by Richelle & Heaven to copy and paste this onto my blog. Thank You, Richelle & Heaven, for this privilege. Amanda
Richelle & Heaven
What is Cerebral Palsy? There is an AMAZING Platform known as “Social Media.” Near and far we’re all connected. Today, wherever you are, we ask that you close your eyes and picture yourselves in a large Auditorium. Are your eyes still closed? Raise your hands about any of the questions we ask. How many of you are Differently Abled or know someone that is? How many of you have ever been subjected to bullying? How many of you have ever felt alone? How many of you struggle to tell the truth about your feelings due to being an Outcast? Now open your eyes and look around. You’re not ALONE. Today we will speak on the topic of Cerebral Palsy. Have you heard of it? My name is Richelle Heath & I’m here with Heaven Ramsey. We’re Co-Founders of the #CPDreamTeam. Together, we bring awareness to the most common childhood motor disability. Sadly, it’s not recognized the way we would expect in 2020 There are over 17 Million People Worldwide affected by Cerebral Palsy. That estimates to one in every 323 children. We even have our own awareness ribbon. Our color is green. Why is green the color of cerebral palsy awareness? Green is associated with new growth, vibrant lives, and renewal of life! This is because no case of Cerebral Palsy is the same. Each and every one of us are affected differently. This is important because we’re all growing and learning daily, living our vibrant lives in our own, unique individual way. Green symbolizes that for our community of 17 Million Strong.
March is our Month and March 25th is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day! Let’s address some Misconceptions: First, children with Cerebral Palsy can never learn to walk. This is simply not true. Over half (about 50%-60%) of children with CP can walk independently. Another misconception is that CP is the same for everyone. There are approximately 17 million people worldwide affected by cerebral palsy and no two are affected the same. There is no certain way a person with CP should look or no certain abilities they should or should not have. Finally, a child with cerebral palsy has a limited future. Since thousands of children are affected by cerebral palsy, and a new generation of adults are navigating the world of this disability, this has proven not to be the case. There are many who are affected by CP who are very successful. There are doctors, athletes and even entertainers that live with CP and that’s just a few of the professions. Let me introduce myself… My name is Richelle Heath. I am 43 and I have spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. My journey began in 1976 as an adopted child whose parents knew nothing about cerebral palsy. They were told by a fellow church member that I may have CP because my legs weren’t moving in accordance with typical childhood developmental milestones. After guidance and referrals, I had my first surgery at 2 and my last at 16 years old. My parents gave me every opportunity, regardless of cost and time so that I would have the best chance of walking independently, driving a car, graduating college and working in corporate America. I am proud to say I have accomplished each and every one of those goals. My dream was to be completely independent. The kind of independence that is often taken for granted.
At age 37, I began using Facebook to see if I could find other people with cerebral palsy facing the same daily struggles as I do. I just knew that somewhere out there, others were dealing with similar challenges. As we age with Cerebral Palsy, life gets harder. Doctors who “Treat Cerebral Palsy” are basically non-existent. You can’t cure CP but what you can do is treat the symptoms. Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and a myriad of medications. It is important to remember that no one with CP is the same. Our bodies are all different & will continue to change, along with our abilities. As you age, disabled or not, your body will continue to break down. That’s life. We ALL need to love ourselves today and every day in the bodies we were given. March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month and March 25th is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. We all want to be heard, we want to be accepted. We want to be understood and cherished for our differences and experiences because together everyone achieves more.
Heaven’s Story My name is Heaven Ramsey. I am 16 years old and I have mild spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. I started my Facebook awareness page “A Stairway To The Stars: Heaven’s Journey With CP” on May 30, 2013. The decision to share my story has changed my life and allowed me to help others. I made the decision to go back to pageants in 2014, when I realized I cannot encourage others to follow their dreams if I don’t follow my own. I participated in pageants from infancy to age 5 but stopped when an imperfect walk became an issue. Since then I’ve held the titles Little Miss Shining Star 2015, Junior Miss Knox County TN MARS 2017, and Jefferson County Fair’s Fairest of the Fair Miss Beautifully Made 2019. I also recently achieved my dream of participating in my first fashion show and hope to model more in the future. With all this, I am so proud to be the co-creator of the #CPDreamTeam t-shirts for National and World CP Day each year. We’ve had 8 successful campaigns with these shirts and are working on the ninth for National CP Day 2020. It has been an honor and a blessing to watch these t-shirts become a centrical part of our campaign for CP awareness. In conclusion, I hope the take away from my story is that no matter your struggle, you should never let anyone or anything hold you back from reaching for the stars and following your dreams. Richelle & Heaven
Author’s Spotlight https://www.pacepromotional.com/world_cp_day/shop/homeMy first day of being a lobbying at the heart of Richmond Virginia. Telling my delegates and state Senators that we need to find a cure for cerebral palsy. It’s was a awesome and amazing experience for me.
In hopes of spreading Cerebral Palsy awareness, we are welcoming 31+ authors for takeovers each day, from March 1st to the 31st in Amanda Fino Reader’s Nest. Each day an author will post something about Cerebral Palsy, with giveaways and fun! The winner is the person who participates the most in the group during the entire month. Have fun, and enjoy it! People with Cerebral Palsy don’t need your sympathies or your hard-earned money. What we are looking for are your VOICE and understanding. To the people that live with Cerebral Pasty, We invite you all to tell each of your fantastic tales about overcoming, living life with CP.
How do you move forward when the past is holding you back? When the abuse from the past affects life choices in the present? Cerebral Palsy Gal is the riveting story of one woman’s quest to come to terms with her health, heartbreak, and family.Amanda was born with cerebral palsy. Throughout her life, she struggled against seemingly overwhelming odds to follow her dream – to be a best-selling writer. As a child, she endured appalling physical, mental, and emotional abuse from members of her own family, especially her mother, who could not accept Amanda’s condition. When her father was only fifty-nine, he died of cancer. She found comfort and solace with her grandmother – her “gragwa” as she called her – the only person in her childhood who cared for her. A chance meeting with a former U.S. intelligence officer and his family at a convention in Las Vegas gave Amanda the chance to be part of a loving family she so dearly craved.Cerebral Palsy Gal is the remarkable story of survival against the odds, a poignant, inspiring, and utterly compelling account of one person finding her own voice and, in turn, becoming the voice of those who, through disability, cannot speak for themselves.
Amanda was born with cerebral palsy. Throughout her life, she struggled against seemingly overwhelming odds to follow her dream – to be a best-selling writer. As a child, she endured appalling physical, mental, and emotional abuse from members of her own family, especially her mother, who could not accept Amanda’s condition. At age fifty-nine, her father died of cancer. She found comfort and solace with her grandmother – her ‘gragwa’ as she called her – the only person in her childhood who cared for her. A chance meeting with a former US intelligence officer and his family at a convention in Las Vegas gave Amanda the chance to be part of a loving family she so dearly craved. Cerebral Palsy Gal is the remarkable story of survival against the odds, a poignant, inspiring, and utterly compelling account of one person finding her own voice and, in turn, becoming the voice of those who, through disability, cannot speak for themselves.
