WELCOME DREW ANNE TO THE VGB FAM #TEAMGOLD

The Verbal Gold Blog fam is so excited to welcome a new writer and member to our team!  #TEAMGOLD Our new Golden Girl is from Charlotte, North Carolina and I have a feeling y’all are just going to love her.  She’s one of my best friends (you know the life long kind), comes from am amazing fam (one I call my own), and is related to our other new addition Claire who y’all met earlier!  If you guys have any questions please please ask away, say hello, and don’t be shy!  Show her some love.  Welcome to the team Drew Anne!   

 

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Hey y’all my name is Drew Anne Loudermilch, Anne is my middle name and was my wonderful Grandmother Nana’s name (she passed away from ALS), unless I know someone well I’ve learned it is a lot easier and definitely faster to use my full name- that way people know I am a girl. Growing up I hated my name, mostly because when I was in lower school I was teased for having a boys name. To this day when people hear my name I am almost always asked at least one of these two questions: 1) Ohh, what is it short for? 2)Were you named after that actress? The answers are nothing and nope, I was definitely not named after Drew Barrymore. Also, people seem to think that since I am a girl then my name must be spelled Dru, I never understood where people got this from- I was like are they thinking about that band Dru Hill? Eventually I realized it was because they thought my name was a nickname for Druscilla. I thank God it isn’t!  

 

Any way enough about my name, I have 2 sisters and the most amazing parents. I’m extremely close to my family and I know how lucky and verrry blessed I am to have such an amazing support system. You see, I have a rare neurological/autoimmune/pain disease called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystropy) or CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). Initially, from just looking at me, one would never know that I am sick. In fact, most people are quite surprised when I tell them. I’ve really learned to appreciate the power of makeup, I really view it as an art form.  Everyone is a canvsas and I love to practice and experiment. Makeup can disguise a lot but in reality when I’m going through a bad spell more often than not I don’t have the strength to apply even a slick of lipgloss let alone a full face of makeup which is why the list of people who I’ll allow to see me when I’m going through a flair is very short: my immediate family, my Mom is the fiercest Mama bear out there, she has spent thousands of hours by my bedside, slept in a gazillion hospital room chairs, held my hand when I was afraid, held me when I cried, stood by me through innumerable medical tests, taken me to a million doctor’s appointments, is always the first face I see after a spinal block (60 and counting)/  She has taken me to Florida for 3 medically induced conscious comas, at the time there were only two doctors in the country that offered the lifesaving treatment I received, now she regularly takes me for those same treatments in Atlanta. God blessed me with a great set of parents, my Mom and Daddy have always had my back. I know no matter how tough life may seem/be/become that they will both be there to support me. My Daddy is a strong man and a faithful father, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma nearly two years ago, and one year ago this April he had a stem cell transplant, he was the fifth patient in Charlotte’s new Levine Cancer Center’s Stem Cell Transplant Ward at Carolina’s Medical Center, he is tough as nails and I’m proud to be his daughter. 

 

My best friend since lower school, Jenna and my best friend from college, Ady- you may have heard of her, after all she is the founder of this blog, and my best friend from UNCC Tatyana. They are three of the most loyal, strong, loving, and resilient women I have ever had the privelege to know, I am so grateful for each of them.  

 

My youngest sister, Claire, is also a VG blogger, we are slightly less than ten years apart but we share a bond that is deeper than any words could ever express, we know the universe mixed things up because we are sure we were meant to be twins- we are bonded to the deepest depths of our core, although it is a such a cliche we really do just get eachother. We can do anything as long as we have each other.  

 

As for my love life, well quite honestly I haven’t been in a relationship or even really dated since my diagnosis, but in theory I believe that there is someone out there for each of us, my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice which is probably why, against all odds, at 29 I still believe in soulmates. I’m a huge animal lover, and I have a black Pomeranian named Tucker, he is my baby.  You can find him on VGBdogs insta! 

 

I love learning about new cultures and travelling, although I haven’t done any extensive travelling since I got sick- the furthest I’ve gotten is Costa Rica and the Turks & Caicos.  Health permitting, I’m hoping to have a return trip to Europe in 2016. My last major trip was a medical mission to Tanzania the summer before I was diagnosed.  

 

What else? I’m an Alabama football fan (Roll Tide!) my whole family is from Alabama and I grew up spending my Summer vacations at my grandparent’s Bay House. I love being on the water, it fills me with such a sense of peace.  

 

I love interior design and online shopping- Gilt, One Kings Lane, Rue La La, and Ideel are my favorites! My favorite color is blush and I’ll pretty much buy anything in rose gold. I’m obsessed with history and I am a huge Francophile. I love Marie Antoinette and I have an entire book case dedicated to books both old and new about her life and the French Revolution. I’ve also read everything I can get my hands on about our country’s first Vice President and second President: John Adams.   

 

What else, well with out a doubt I am a girly girl, I consider myelf a glamerina fashionista but even though I like to have my hair and nails done I have zero dumb blonde tolerance. The sexiest thing to me is the brain- looks may fade with age but one’s intellect continues to grow and blossom. I’m a voracious reader, my favorite genre is historical nonfiction. I am a semi-closeted nerd, I love Doctor Who and I’m a Ravenclaw- if you don’t know what that means we probably wouldn’t hit it off. I love British television- some of my favorites include The Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat, Gavin & Stacey, Pulling, and Outnumbered. I’m also obsessed with costume dramas- The Age of Innocence, The Young Victoria, Pride & Prejudice, Vanity Fair, The Duchess, Angel, any and every Merchant & Ivory film, Vatel, Marie Antoinette, Cheri, etc. I also love Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific; in fact I watch John Adams every Fourth of July.  

 

In college I studied English and Political Science. I’m addicted to Daily Mail, I probably check it at least 3 times a day. My most embarrassing secret is that no matter how hard I try (and trust me I try pretty hard lol) to hate them I always wind up loving every One Direction song that comes on the radio- but I swear, in all other regards I have good taste in music! 

 

Always, 

Drew