Colon Cancer

On January 30, 2019, my sister Reba Powe Hawkins was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.  This was a shock and it sucks, but we as a family are staying positive and give it to God (Allah) to hold us up and keep us moving.

Click the link to support my sister in her battle and help raise funds for the many therapies needed to fight like a girl! #RallyingWithReba

30/30 Veggie Challenge

I'm taking the March veggie challenge to try 30 different vegetables in 30 days before the end of March.  I'm currently working under my company's team, but I encourage you to join as an individual. Visit Recipe for Success Foundation to learn more and sign up.  #VegOut2019

10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lupus

Source: The Lupus Foundation of America

Lupus is a mysterious and complicated illness that is difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat. Despite its widespread prevalence, about two thirds of the public have little or no knowledge of its effects. This Lupus Awareness Month, you can help spread knowledge and bring us closer to a future free from lupus.

1.  Lupus is an unpredictable autoimmune disease that can affect the heart, lungs, skin or kidneys.

2.  A lupus patient’s average medical and loss of productivity costs are roughly $20,000 per year, and can increase to $63,000 per year if he or she has kidney complications. 

3.  No special diet has been found to cure lupus or cause it to go into remission.

4.  In certain cases, people with lupus are treated with cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat cancer that suppresses the immune system.  

5.  The steroids used to treat people with lupus are the same ones that body builders and some professional athletes have been known to use.

6.  While lupus affects people of all races and ethnicities, African Americans — as well as Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans — are diagnosed with lupus 2-3 times more often than Caucasians.

7.  Lupus is not contagious. It cannot be “caught” or “passed on” to anyone, no matter what symptoms are showing.

8.  Sensitivity to UV light (present in both sunlight and artificial light) affects as many as two thirds of individuals with lupus. This is known to cause fever, debilitating fatigue, joint pain, and rashes. 

9.  Lupus is not a form of arthritis, but many people with lupus do suffer from joint and/or muscle pain.

10. It is estimated that more than 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus.

Test your knowledge about these facts and more by taking the KNOW LUPUS challenge at lupus.org/know and visit lupus.org/awareness to learn more about how you can take action this Lupus Awareness Month.

My soapbox

Okay so the guy today on 740 KTRH NewsRadio that is standing in for Matt Patrick says that this Patrick Green guy that's suing the church for putting up a cross because he's an atheist and he thinks it's tacky and whatnot blah blah blah that the only reason atheists are going against Christians is because Christians are sweet and lovable and God-fearing and the reason they don't go against Muslims is because well they're afraid of being killed. 

Are you freaking kidding me? There are Muslims in this world that are just as God-fearing if not more than some Christians and we're not out trying to kill people. Now there are people claiming to be Muslims that are out there killing Christians, Muslims and others just out of ignorance. And to be honest seriously you're afraid of us killing you? We're just as afraid of you killing us,  there are plenty of dead Muslims right now who got shot and killed, ran over, or whatever else just for being Muslim by "God-fearing Christians". 

Rant over I'm off my soapbox. 

I don't speak out much because I try to stay out of all this craziness but sometimes I get so freaking irritated by the stupid people out there who don't understand Islam or Muslims. I say that separately because Islam and Muslims are two different things Islam is the religion Muslims are the people in and just like Christians, Muslims can do stupid stuff and kill people but that has no reflection on the religion because the religion didn't make them do it. Christians do stupid stuff but you don't see the media blaming that on Baptists,  Catholics, etc.

March for Babies 2016

2015 Butterfly Garden 

Each year the March for babies give participants the option to donate and purchase butterflies for a butterfly garden in memorial or celebration of a life lost or granted by the aid of today's technology and funds made and given from the March of Dimes.

It is that time again, the March of Dimes has set the schedule for the 2016 March for Babies.  And the Team Qhamatas will be at it again.  We hope you will join us or at least donate.  

Join our team for 2016: Team Qhamatas

Why we walk

When you walk in March for Babies, you give hope to nearly half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We’ve been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2.3 billion to benefit all babies.

What to expect

This year, 3 million people will join their family, friends and colleagues in nearly 700 communities across the nation. Our volunteers and staff will encourage and support you in your efforts to raise awareness and funds. No matter if this is your first year or your 25th, you can expect the event to be fun, compelling and rewarding.

Walk Distance: 5 miles

Registration Time: 8:00 AM

Start Time: 9:00 AM

Chapter: Houston Division

Lupus Awareness Day

So May 15th is Lupus Awareness day.  I need everyone to POP 

with me tomorrow. Take a look around your closet. If you are a 

crafter craft a purple butterfly or just a purple ribbon. Any purple 

will do. Text, email or attach your pics to this 

event. ‪#‎PutOnPurple‬ ‪#‎KnowLupus‬

Also raising funds in Memory of my Mom and Uncle Gene here:http://lupus.donorpages.com/Raise4Lupus/TPQ

Side note the TPQ stands for Thompson, Powe and Qhamata ;)

I am raising funds for the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA). My goal is to raise $250 for the 1.5 million people living with lupus in the United States. Your donation will help me reach my personal fundraising goal and I hope that you'll help me reach this goal! I realize these are tough times for many people, but every little bit helps!!

This page is in memory of two people in my family that didn't survive the fight.  My uncle Gene who died before I was born and was my moms best friend.  And my Mother who died when I was 15.  My mother found she had Lupus when she was working a job involving meat hooks and she got one stuck in her ankle.  When the wound wouldn't heal she went to the doctor.  This was day one.  So many years later she was warned against having kids, but she had me anyways.  I'm grateful for the fight she put up to stay and make me the person I am today and I'm happy that she is finally resting. 

Welcome to National Prematurity Awareness Month

We have made it to another year.  Welcome to the National Prematurity Awareness Month -NOVEMBER. 

It's that time of year again.  I have no words for the joy I feel participating with the March for Babies each year.  The first year we did it to support the organization, but after 2009 preterm labor and birth took on a whole new meaning for me and my family.  Now we walk to support the organization, but also in memory of our DS who was born way to soon due to complications.  But we also thank the March of Dimes for all they do because after him I had 2 successful full term pregnancies with the help of medical care and weekly progesterone shots that helped me carry my DS and DD right to the 37 week mark.

So this month I want everyone to remember those in their family born to soon or those in your extended families (friends/co-workers) that were born to soon.  Wear PURPLE in love on November 17th for World Prematurity Day. 

Lupus Awareness Month!!! Help solve this cruel mystery!

Help Solve the Cruel Mystery of Lupus by Raising Awareness this May

Lupus is one of the cruelest, most mysterious diseases on earth -- an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body. Research shows lupus, which affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, is more pervasive and more severe than people think, and has an impact that the public doesn’t realize.

May is Lupus Awareness Month and we can all do our part to raise awareness of lupus and show support for those who suffer from its brutal impact. The Lupus Foundation of America is urging the public to join them throughout the month to educate others and improve public understanding of lupus -- an important key to unlocking the mysteries of lupus.

The Lupus Foundation of America is working to energize the public and ultimately Congress to devote serious resources to lupus research. Without sufficient funding, research studies to find the causes of lupus and to discover new safe, tolerable and effective lupus treatments will be delayed and the search for a cure will be seriously impaired. You can go online to sign a petition asking Congress to provide more money for lupus research at lupus.org/petition.

The Lupus Foundation of America is also again asking the public to Put On Purple for lupus awareness by wearing purple and telling people why they are showing their support for all people affected by this disease. Put On Purple Day^TM will take place on Friday, May 17, 2013, and is one of many programs taking place during May.

There are many other ways you can help raise awareness of lupus during May. Lupus Awareness Month activities include social media, online and grassroots components and there are many tools available so everyone can get involved and educate their communities.

The public can learn more about lupus and ways to get involved in improving awareness of this devastating disease this May by visiting the Lupus Foundation of America’s website at lupus.org. Tools, free of charge, are available at lupus.org/awarenesskit.