VOICES OF OUR REGION
Bonnie Irwin
Transcript
Okay, my name is Bonnie Irwin and I live in Bethel Park, a really nice place. I used to be walking, and what happened was I fell off my horse and it caused my MS to come out. I didn’t even know I had MS until I fell off my horse.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
I have three brothers and one wonderful sister. She’s a tennis pro. She’s had a program for twenty years in Upper St. Clair. So she had her 14-year-old girl, she is best in the country. She’s been playing tennis since she was four. Her name is Ali Reski , you’ll probably hear about her. She was in a tournament in California and Billie Jean King said, “Who’s your lucky pro?” and she said, “Janis Irwin.” My sister is like really great at teaching tennis.
And what about your brothers? Are they all around here?
Um, one brother lives in Alabama. He’s like the perfect brother. He’s my mother. I never knew he was exactly like my mother. Like, well, his wife was here and Robbie put me on the toilet, and Pam gasped Robbie comes in, “What’s wrong?”
And Pam goes, “He’s like this all the time.” He’s wonderful all the time, very handsome and wonderful, just like my mother.
The other brothers, the one brother, that’s really talented, he’s an alcoholic. He doesn’t come around. Then my other brother is in Upper St. Clair. He lives like fifteen minutes away. And he comes around, and, um, my sister lives right in Bethel Park, one mile away.
Interviewer: How was your dad reacting, your brothers and sister reacting when you discovered you had MS?
Nothing. What were they supposed to say?
Interviewer: Well, I mean did they feel sorry for you?
If they were upset, I didn’t know about it. We don’t…I’ve had MS for 25 years, and the doctor told me to lay down. And I haven’t laid down yet.
Interviewer: Who’s had the biggest influence on your life?
Jesus. I don't look up to anybody. Well, Sakajawea. I love Sacajawea. Do you know who she is. She was fourteen years old when she led the Lewis and Clarke Expedition across the Continental Divide. I love her. You know, I’ve seen healers and stuff. They tell me I was an Indian in my past life. That was before I already had this stuff, but, you know, the Bible really doesn’t talk about that.
Interviewer: What would say is the hardest thing for you about this illness?
I haven’t found anything hard yet. Cause when you surrender your heart to Jesus Christ, you don’t ever have to worry about anything anymore, cause at first I thought worrying was a sin, but now I see that once you do that he can take over everything. So I don’t have to worry about anything. It’s so great. That’s why I feel like I’m so fortunate and so blessed, because I don’t worry about anything.