Hi from Arkansas!

Hello ya’ll, yes I said ya’ll ! that is the official greeting from all of us here in Arkansas! I am so excited to have the opportunity to be the representative of this fine state. I have resided here for 15 wonderful years now. The beautiful scenery and changes of seasons are amazing! We have beautiful campgrounds and parks to enjoy family time. I have only been doing pageants for a little over 2 years now. In 2016 I went into kidney failure 3 times for unknown reasons except that I was morbidly obese. My doctor said that if I went into failure one more time, he would be unable to save my life. I am a mother of 6 kids, (yours mine & ours) I really needed to change, so in 15 months, on my own, I lost over 200 pounds, no gimmics , no pills, no surgery. Then I had a lot of loose skin that I hated, so I had major skin removal surgery, in fact in ONE surgery I did Breast reduction, breast lift, liposuction, tummy tuck, ab repair and the complete removal of my lower stomach area *the panis. This again was in ONE surgery , overnight in hospital, 2 nights in local hotel and I was home. In my 6th week of recovery my surgeon said that I could compete in our local Mrs. Peach Festival Pageant. I WON!!!! I spent 2017/2018 having the time of my life, being an example for other women struggling with weight, inspiring others that they are able to do it if they step out of their safety zones. I handed out little crowns to girls and small character rubber ducks to boys. It was amazing. I did smaller pageants on the side on weekends as well. In July 2018 I crowned the new Mrs. Peach, who I happened to train, Tammie Bean, an amazing woman and friend.  I had another surgery the 1st part of September 2018 taking off the excess skin around my arms and axillary area (the sides of your chest ) That was also an out patient procedure and came home that day, I did great & have an excellent support system with my husband and children who are still living in our home. In October, 2018 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. My live as we knew it completely changed with those words. However I still do my best to encourage everyone that no matter the complications you face in your daily life that you can do it, whatever you put your mind to, you CAN, my motto is #LIVE which means live your life, live like tomorrow won’t come. Keep fighting for a cure. My other platform is Organ donation as I only have one kidney. I am grateful and blessed to be able to share my story of obesity, overcoming it. The struggles of Parkinson’s , the love of family and the strength to keep on living your life, not dwell on the negative side of things. Everyone has bad days, but you can find ONE good thing everyday to be thankful for. Today my thankfulness goes to the American Coronet Pageants for choosing me to represent the state of Arkansas! I thank you so much, and if anyone out there has any questions for me I would love to speak to you personally. Much love xoxox Christy