Hi guys,
Gonna get a little personal with you, if you don’t mind. With my daughter Kate’s permission, I would like to share this with you. When Kate was just 8 years old, after finally surviving 4 years of an extremely traumatic custody battle, I noticed that Kate starting demonstrating behavior that seemed compulsive. She would tap the floor a specific number of times on both sides of her while walking, and look right and left an equal sum of times. I immediately called her pediatrician who set us up at UCLA Anxiety Disorder Clinic, where she was diagnosed with OCD and Tic Disorder. She was immediately put in treatment as well as several clinical trials for the next 8 years with intermittent therapy as needed after that. I was also giving instruction on how to cope and help her cope. The challenge for Kate growing up was substantial, and it was no small feat for her to learn management of this disorder behaviorally, for there really is no other way to truly live with it. I have witnessed up close and personal the effort & discipline it took Kate to tame that “bully” in her head, as she calls it. She, to this day must still use her well learned skills taught to her so brilliantly and compassionately by her therapists at UCLA Health. We are in a constant state of gratitude for our huge circle of support of so many people for so many years. Kate, a recent graduate from the Thornton School of Music, wrote a song expressing what it feels like to have OCD & Tic disorder and produced her own music video with graduation money from her Godparents, Pam & Phil. I can’t wait for you to see it. As you can tell, I’m so very proud of all her accomplishments, her professionalism & talent, but most of all her willingness to share her beautiful heart through her art. Here is a message from Kate to you about her new single “Untangling.”