Lou Robinson - Profile

I am a 50 year old, African American woman, with a 26 year old son, the light of my life. For almost 30 years I've practiced as an occupational therapist, helping persons with disabilities or other barriers to independence. I now work at a day treatment program for adults with mental illness and a geriatric facility, both on a part-time basis. I became interested in health prevention and promotion while managing an occupational therapy rehabilitation department in Baltimore in the early '80's. I observed that few clients who came to the hospital knew very much about their conditions, and they often ignored suggestions for improvement. I didn't realize how difficult it was to stay healthy with a chronic condition until I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis during that time. Because of the nature of the condition, I was initially misdiagnosed with arthritis. I eventually embraced a wellness lifestyle, but not without a significant amount of kicking and screaming first. My need to live well with chronic health conditions (I was diagnosed with hypertension about six years ago)led me to explore and gain some expertise in wellness/personal growth. I have adopted walking and tai chi as two of my main health promotion efforts. I'm currently in training as a tai chi instructor. I've also taken a personal coaching class and am looking into developing a wellness/coaching business. When I'm not involved in wellness/personal development activities I write. I went back to school eight years ago, and obtained a masters degree in mass communications. I've written in personal journals for many years, and have written poetry, short stories and plays over the last 15 years. However, I have very little published. I had an article published in an OT health book and journal in 1987, and, wrote an article for a professional newsletter while volunteering at an arts program. Last year I wrote a history of a professional organization. I donated the proceeds from the sale of the book to the organization to help endow a chair for a member who'd been killed in an airline crash over ten years ago. In 1994 I joined the Missouri Association of Playwrights(MAP). I have many plays in various stages of completion, but did manage to have two of my plays staged, and one play was produced last spring. The produced play won me the Playwright of the Year Award from MAP. When I'm not writing, I love to read, visit with family and friends (on the phone and via email since I moved to Northern California from the Midwest seven months ago, and, go to movies and plays. I recently licensed a writing and publishing business, River's Edge Communications. I also enjoy surfing the net and bookmarking sites I like. I have several writing newsletters sent to my email address, as well as a couple of email newsletters from other sites.