I’d love to hear so please share!
My Superpower? Beyond unparalleled energy and joie de vivre, it’s my analytical chops and “Super Glue” mind.
Yes I’m a numbers geek with at least two complex finance models open at any given moment. I’m the glue that brings it all together.
And, whether it’s volunteering with the Los Angeles Police Department, breaking story on my feature film screenplay “The Deal Closer”, or bringing in a brilliant neurosurgeon to help my amazing brother walk again, you can always count on the Rock&Roll Gymnast to get the job done.
Yes I’ve been volunteering for over a year, 8 – 12 hours a month, with LAPD North Hollywood Division. It’s important and rewarding work, where my analytical mind is making a difference. I volunteer with a designated community program, and with the Detective squad. Thank you to everyone on the planet who values and safeguards life!
The “Deal Closer” is a psychological thriller and 80s period piece, that follows ambitious investment banker turned Rock&Roll manager Katherine Gilbert, from the heyday of Wall Street, to the decadent hills of Laurel Canyon and the Sunset Strip. The plan is working until Katherine’s estranged mother and former partner Fallon Montgomery is murdered. Who did it? You won’t see it coming and the Climax will blow you away!
When I completed the first draft in September 2019, it was not this. It was a page one rewrite, flat, tell your story through dialog, weak to moderate key story beats, I have no idea how to write a screenplay, thing. But, somewhere in the middle of all that, were seeds of an important story about ambition and love, and the ability to absorb what my UCLA Writers Program instructors have been teaching me. Stay tuned!
But the high mark to kick off 2021, the analytical super glue story of the decade, is a game changing rocket ship that’s about to blast off for my brilliant and beloved brother Geoffrey.
I’ve always been a Math English gal. Now I can add Science. For the past six years, my brother has battled a challenging mobility disorder, quite convincingly I should add, thanks to a phenomenal neurologist, Dr. Barbara Allis, who we adore beyond measure. But something dramatically changed in December 2019, and up until a few weeks ago, nobody has been able to explain why. My brother can barely stand up and walk, and now uses a walker to get around.
Thankfully my brother is ably supported by Special Citizens Futures Unlimited (SCFU), an impressive organization founded 40 years ago by a sister and a mother, providing comprehensive services and lovely small residential homes to adults on the autism spectrum, in New York’s lower Hudson Valley, Riverdale, and Manhattan.
Although unfortunate, a recent fall and Mount Sinai ER visit, provided impetus for transformative change. This super glue sister, grateful that all the scans were negative for fracture, of course read all the detail findings on MyChart. Some lower back spinal changes typical for a person my brother’s age nonetheless prompted me to email Mount Sinai neurosurgeon Arthur L. Jenkins III, late Sunday night. At 7:06am the following morning, he was all over it. Four days later, in a conference call with Dr. Jenkins and my brother, a game changing plan emerged!
Dr. Jenkins is a nationally renowned and highly dedicated neurosurgeon. A fierce advocate for his patients, he is undeniably, one of the finest diagnostic and pioneering clinicians for complex spinal neurological problems. Currently the on call neurosurgeon for the NY Jets, he has served as Co-Director of Mount Sinai’s Spinal Neurosurgery Program, and Director of the Spinal Oncology, Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery, and Spinal Cord Injury Laboratory programs. In 2017, he launched JENKINS NeuroSpine but still maintains “voluntary” faculty status at the Icahn School of Medicine, teaching the next generation of residents and students. Beyond all that, he is the nicest, most down to earth approachable guy, with humility abound!
Dr. Jenkins quickly and masterfully identified two distinct areas of focus. First, is a drainage problem in the ventricles of my brother’s brain, that directly impacts mobility, unbelievable! It happens to babies at birth, and to people as they age. They don’t always know why it happens, but Dr. Jenkins can fix it!
Second, is a rare transitional anatomy at the base of my brother’s spine, referred to as a “lumbarized S1”. Dr. Jenkins has led the field in pioneering and innovative solutions and we’ll learn more about this in the follow up visit.
My brother can’t wait to dance again soon with his girlfriend Jasmine, and also to attend his 40th high school reunion! On that note, as we’re definitely a musical family, and passionately believe in the healing power of music, we’ll take you out with this newly released gem, from the mighty musical genes of the Greta Van Fleet brothers. I’ll give you some bonus points if you can correctly identify the identical twins. Enjoy! Heat Above
