On this day, Tracey banged on her cage door, frantic to be free. The monkey was upset because Brown had been away for hours. Brown unlocked the cage door, and Tracey scampered out.
Fetch lease,” she told Tracey, who lifted up a black nylon leash and handed it to Brown. Tracey immediately took her place on the pillow beside Brown's head. The monkey began combing Brown's curly gray hair with her long fingers, picking bits of hair spray off the strands and licking it off her hands.
If Brown is slow to offer a peanut butter reward, the monkey impudently claps her hands in irritation. If Brown still doesn't respond, Tracey claps louder, then begins screeching. Brown likens her sometimes-pouty behavior to that of a two-year-old.
Occasionally, Tracy's nails need to be filed, so Brown showed Tracey how to do it herself. Now the capuchin jerks to a halt and begins filing her own toenails whenever she comes across an emery board.
Tracey loves the “Today” show, “Star Trek”, and Martha Stewart. But don't turn on Oprah, because she doesn't like it, Brown said. Really.
“We see monkeys who love weathermen because they look like they are talking at you and waving their hands,” Keppler said.
On some days, Brown has trouble breathing and needs oxygen. Tracey senses her distress and helps Brown regain her composure.
Brown's Disability stems from a 1991 car crash in which she suffered a hairline fracture to the neck. The injury later developed into Syringomyelia, in which a Cyst forms inside the spinal cord, causing pain, nerve damage, loss of body functions, and paralysis.
For a time, she took powerful medications such as oxycontin, but she quit taking the drugs because she felt incoherent. Today, Tracey is her best medicine.
“Tracey came into my life, and life was great,” Brown said. “She is truly the reason I keep going.” She just may be a monkey, but she's more than a monkey to me. She's a companion.” Tracey, equally at peace with the match, curled her tail around her body, cuddled up to Brown's heart, and nodded off to sleep.
FOR SALE!!!!***
97 Mercury Sable LS; station wagon. Leather interior; 6-cylinder; 6-passenger seating; rear-facing third seat; Braun wc topper; Monarch hand controls. 93,000 miles. Price negotiable. Call Ruth @ 239-9754 after 5 p.m.
2001 Dodge Intrepid. 30,000 mi; leather interior; automatic transmission; Braun overhead wheelchair carrier & hand controls. Call Ruth at 239-9754 after 5 p.m.
*2003 Ford F-250 lift-equipped green/gray van; leather seats, TV, DVD player. Playstation hookup, am-fm radio. Rick Miller, 937-2245.
*Cookbooks for Sale: Recipes compiled by Chapter members; $10:00. Call David @ 589-6620.
*Video tapes for sale. Various topics related to spinal cord injuries. Call David Allgood or Buddy Lawson.
***If assistance is needed to pay for any of the above items, contact Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation at 1-800-327-5287 for information on loans at 5% interest to qualified candidates.
