A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes

When I was nine, I watched the Sunday night movie with Mampau like I did every Sunday night. This week, it was a movie based on an actress that had been super famous in the fifties and sixties. Me being the old soul that I was, was instantly intrigued. This movie had been based on her autobiography, which I wouldn't get the chance to read until around twenty years later.

The first thing I noticed was that I seemed to have a lot in common with this lady. I was a shy Italian girl trying to grow in my self confidence who loved music and always tried to be positive, even through the difficult times. Also when I saw pictures of her as a child, I could tell that I actually looked a bit like her.

Annette Funnicello had started out at the age of twelve after being discovered by non other then Walt Disney himself. She was a mouseketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. She later starred in beach movies with Frankie Avalon. In the eighties, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerlosis, eventually passing from the disease in 2013.

I watched and read everything I could with Annette. I walked around my house wearing a blue jean skirt, a Mickey Mouse sweat shirt, and a pair of Mickey Mouse Club hat with a glued on bow. I also cut my hair short and had it curled just like she had worn when she was my age. Unfortunately my hair looked more like Michael Jackson.

Years later, I came across her autobiography on amazon and immediately bought it. My admiration for her only grew when I read her story from her own words. The one thing that stood out to me was how real she actually was. She was one celebrity that you never heard anything negative about. I was stunned when she stated that she had both drank and smoked. I learned that I didn't have to be perfect.

A few months before she passed, a news show was invited to her home to see what Multiple Sclerosis had done to her. She had lost the ability to talk, walk, and see. She was blessed with an incredible husband that stood by her through to the end. Every day he would drive her out to see their horses that she loved so dearly. They had around the clock nursing. In 2011, they were both injured in a house fire that also destroyed much of her mementos from her long career. Finally after a near thirty year battle, Annette Funicello passed at the age of seventy.They never stopped searching for a cure, trying just about any possible cure that anyone suggested to them. During her fight she founded the Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases. She also had her own line of teddy bears and perfume that she used the profits to help in the cause.

In an interesting twist of fate, about three years ago, my lifelong best friend was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It breaks my heart to think about the possibility of her suffering, but as of now, her's is under control for the most part aside for the occasional bad day. I hope that the cure is right around the corner.

It's been almost thirty years since I watched this movie. I wish I had been able to read the book back then, but that's one of the good things about online shopping. I'm no longer running around in my Mickey Mouse ears, though I still think they're pretty cool. But most importantly, I've learned that its ok to just be myself. In the words of Annette herself, "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful." Thanks Annette.

Check out afrfnd.org to learn more about Annette and the fight.