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Wish Book: Asthma doesn't slow down 3-year-old dancing queen
Nov 24, 2009 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
First come prayers. Then comes a little Michael Jackson.
Every morning, Shakeria Brown's grandmother gently wakes her in the bed they share. The 3-year-old joins her cousins for a conference-call prayer chain in their small home in Little River.
The others get ready for school, and grandma Mae Brown and Shakeria pull up Michael Jackson videos on the Internet.
Shakeria has severe asthma. A lengthy hospital stay as an infant delayed her ability to walk. Her speech is limited.
But when the King of Pop comes on the computer screen, Shakeria kicks off her sandals and begins to bend her knees to the beat. She points to the computer, on a desk that takes up most of the living room where some of her cousins sleep, and says: "Look. It's Michael."
As she watches, Shakeria begins mouthing the lyrics. In a small, raspy voice, she sings a few words of We are the World and Black or White.
Her favorite song is Thriller. Shakeria cranks her neck like the zombies in the video when the music starts.
"She loves to sing," Brown says. "She likes to dance. Her favorite singer is Michael Jackson."
Brown, 68, has raised Shakeria since she was born. They sleep in the same bed, along with Brown's daughter. Brown, a retired preschool teacher, also cares for four other grandchildren who sleep two in a bed, and on a small couch in the living room.
"I try to put a roof over everyone's head," Brown says.
Brown is never too far from her granddaughter. She has to keep vigilant in case Shakeria gets an asthma attack -- which can occur three times a day.
When Shakeria begins to breathe quickly and heavily, or when she begins sweating, Brown scoops up her granddaughter, and rocks her. She said Shakeria is learning to control her attacks, but she still uses mist treatments to open up her airways.
She undergoes the treatments every morning. Another part of their daily routine includes rubbing lotion over Shakeria's skin to help control her eczema.
And Brown must remember to take care of herself: She is diabetic and takes pills twice a day to help control her blood sugar. Through it all, Brown sings church songs she learned as a child. Shakeria joins in with hand movements.
"I go to church," she says, sitting on her front porch as Brown sings and sways. Shakeria is walking well now, but she gets physical therapy once a month. As she played in the front lawn one recent afternoon, Brown thought about what their family could use:
A bed for Shakeria and a pull-out couch for her cousins.
A vacuum cleaner to help keep a busy house clean.
Rosetta Stone language programs in Spanish to help her grandchildren get ahead.
A laptop to watch music videos and a karaoke machine so that Shakeria can do her favorite thing: sing and dance to Michael Jackson.
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